HARPER'S  PARALLEL 
SOURCE  PROBLEM   SERIES 

SOURCE  PROBLEMS  IN   UNITED  STATES  HISTORY 
SOURCE   PROBLEMS  OF   ENGLISH   HISTORY 
SOURCE  PROBLEMS  OF  MEDIEVAL  HISTORY 
SOURCE  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION 


HARPER   A   BROTHERS,  NEW   YORK 

[ESTABLISHED  1817] 


HARPER'S  PARALLEL  SOURCE  PROBLEMS 

SOURCE  PROBLEMS 

IN 

ENGLISH   HISTORY 


BY 

ALBERT    BEEBE  WHITE 

PROFESSOR   OF  HISTORY  IN  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  MINNESOTA 

AND 

WALLACE    NOTESTEIN 

PROFESSOR    OF   ENGLISH    HISTORY  ' 
IN    CORNELL   UNIVERSITY 


WITH   AN    INTRODUCTION    BY 

PROFESSOR  DANA  CARLETON  MUNRO 


HARPER  W  BROTHERS   PUBLISHERS 

NEW     YORK     AND      LONDON 


COPY 

?RINT 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

PREFACE ix 

INTRODUCTION xv 

I.  ALFRED  AND  THE   DANES 

I.  The  Historical  Setting  of  the  Problem      ....  3 

II.  Introductions  to  the  Sources 7 

III.  Questions  and  Suggestions  for  Study 10 

IV.  The  Sources 12 

1.  The  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle 12 

2.  Asser's  Life  of  King  Alfred 16 

3.  The  Chronicle  of  Ethelwerd 25 

4.  Alfred  and  Guthrum's  Peace 31 

II.  ORIGIN  OF  THE  JURY 

I.  The  Historical  Setting  of  the  Problem      ....  35 

II.  Introductions  to  the  Sources 39 

III.  Questions  and  Suggestions  for  Study 45 

IV.  The  Sources 48 

1.  The  Monastery   of   St.   Vincent  versus   Certain 

Serfs  of  the  Monastery.    854 48 

2.  Abbot  of  St.  Augustine's  Claim  to  a  Ship      .     .  51 

3.  Title  of  the  Domesday  Inquest  for  Ely.     1086  .  52 

4.  Claim  of  Abbot  of  St.  Augustine  to  Customs  at 

Newington.     1094 53 


Contents 

5.  Monks  of  St.  Stephen  versus  the  King's  Tenants. 


53 

6.  Writ  of  the  Earl  of  Essex  in  favor  of  the  Canons 

of  St.  Martin      ..........  55 

7.  Constitutions  of  Clarendon.     1164       ....  55 

8.  Assize  of  Clarendon.     1166     .......  56 

9.  Assize  of  Northampton.     1176    ......  56 

10.  Tractatus  de  Legibus  et   Consuetudinibus  Regni 

Anglia  .............  58 

11.  Typical  Civil  Pleas  before  the  Justices  of  the 

Bench   and   before    the   Justices   in    Eyre. 

I2OO-I2O2          ...........  6O 

12.  Typical  Pleas  of  the  Crown  before  the  Justices 

.    Itinerant.     1201-1203       .......  64 

13.  Typical  Pleas  of  the  Crown  before  the  Justices 

Itinerant  in  Gloucestershire.     1221    .     .     .  66 

UI.  SOME  ANTECEDENTS  OF  THE  HOUSE  OP  COM- 
MONS 

I.  The  Historical  Setting  of  the  Problem      ....  73 

II.  Introductions  to  the  Sources    ........  75 

III.  Questions  and  Suggestions  for  Study    .....  85 

IV.  The  Sources  ..............  88 

1.  Inquest  of  Sheriffs.     1170       .......  88 

2.  Cesta  Regis  Henrici  Secundi  Benedict*  Abbatis  .  89 

3.  Assize  of  Arms.     1181    .........  90 

4.  Ordinance  of  the  Saladin  Tithe.     1188      ...  91 

5.  Form  of  Proceeding  on  the  Judicial  Visitation. 

"94       .............  92 

6.  Summons  of  Juries  to  St.  Albans.    July  21,  1213  93 

7.  Summons  to  a  Great  Council.     November  7, 

1213       .............  93 

8.  Magna  Carta.      June  15,  1215    ......  93 

9.  Writ  for  Assembling  the  County  Court  before 

the  Itinerant  Justices.      1218   .....  94 

10.  Writ  for  the  Collection  of  a  Carucage.     1220  .  95 


Contents 

11.  Distraint  of  Knighthood.     1224 96 

12.  Writ  Summoning  Four  Knights  of  the  Shire. 

1227 97 

13.  Writ    Summoning    Representatives    of    Seven 

Boroughs.     1235 98 

14.  Writ   Summoning  Two  Knights  of  the  Shire. 

1254 98 

15.  Writ  Summoning  Three  Knights  of  the  Shire. 

1261       loo 

1 6.  Writ  Summoning  Four  Knights  of  the  Shire. 

1264 101 

17.  Writs   Relating  to   the  Assembly  of  January, 

1265 .      .      102 

IV.  AN  ASPECT  OF  THE  FOURTEENTH-CENTURY 

LABOR   PROBLEM 

I.  The  Historical  Setting  of  the  Problem      ....  109 

II.  Introductions  to  the  Sources 113 

III.  Questions  and  Suggestions  for  Study 118 

IV.  The  Sources 121 

1.  Cartidarium    Monasterii    de    Ramseia:     CCIX. 

1252         121 

2.  Extent  of  the  Manor  of  Borley.     1308    .     .     .  127 

3.  Typical  Lists  of  Manorial  Services      .     .     .     .  132 

4.  Chronicon  Henrici  Knighton.     1349 135 

5.  Royal  Writ  in  Behalf  of  John   de  Paddebury. 

1350 140 

•  6.  Ordinance  of  Laborers.     1349 141 

7.  Statute  of  Laborers.     1351 146 

8.  Writ  Appointing  Justices  of  Laborers.     1356  .  152 

9.  Proceedings    before    the   Justices   of    Laborers. 

1355:   1358 154 

V.  FREEDOM  OF  SPEECH  UNDER  ELIZABETH  AND 

THE   STUARTS 

I.  The  Historical  Setting  of  the  Problem      .     .     .     .     161 

II.  Introductions  to  the  Sources 176 


Contents 

MM 

Part  A.  Elizabeth 176 

Part  B.  The  Stuarts 178 

III.  Questions  and  Suggestions  for  Study 181 

Part  A.  Elizabeth 181 

Part  B.  The  Stuarts 183 

IV.  The  Sources 186 

Part  A.  Elizabeth 186 

1.  Commons  Journals,  Nos.  I,  6l 186 

2.  Calendars  of  State  Papers,  Spanish,  No.  2   .     .  187 

3.  Staff  Papers,  Domestic,  No.  3 190 

4.  D'Ewes,  Journals,  Nos.  4,  5,  7 192 

8.  Townshend's  Historical  Collections,  Nos.  8,  9     .  200 
Part  B.  The  Stuarts 202 

1.  Parliamentary  History,  No.  I 203 

2.  Parliamentary  Debates  in  1610,  Nos.  2,  4     .     .  205 

3.  Commons  Journals,  Nos.  3,  12 207 

5.  Calendar  of  State  Papers,  Domestic,  Nos.  5,  8  208 

6.  Nicholas,  Proceedings  and  Debates,  No.  6     .     .  210 

7.  Calendar  of  State  Papers,   Venetian,  No.  7   .     .  224 

9.  Notes  of  tJie  Parliament  of  1626,  No.  9    ...  225 

10.  An  Account  of  the  Debate  on  June  5,   1628, 

No.  10,  from 

a.  Grosvenor's  Journal 230 

b.  Borlase  Manuscript 230 

c.  Rushworth's  Historical  Collections   ....  230 

11.  Cobbett's  State  Trials,  No.  II 235 

13.  Lords  Journals,  No.  13 237 

Reference  to  Bill  of  Rights  in  Appendix,  No.  14  .     .  238 

VI.      THE  ENGLISH  PARISH  AND  THE  NEW  ENG- 
LAND TOWN-MEETING 

I.  The  Historical  Setting  of  the  Problem    ....  241 

II.  Introductions  to  the  Sources 244 

i  These  numbers  are  those  of  the  extracts,  which,  on  account  of  the  repeated 
use  of  the  same  source  in  this  problem  and  Problem  VIII,  have  been  arranged  in 
a  separate  enumeration. 


Contents 

III.  Questions  and  Suggestions  for  Study      ....  246 

IV.  The  Sources 248 

1.  Lambard,  Duties  of  Constables 248 

2.  Sheppard,  Offices  and  Duties  of  Constables    .     .  252 

3.  Men  ton,  A  Guide  for  Constables 255 

4.  The  Annals  of  St.  Helen's  Bishopsgate,  London  .  257 

5.  Nichols,  Illustrations 

A.  Churchwardens'  Accounts  of  St.  Margaret's 

Westminster 261 

B.  Churchwardens'  Accounts  of  Wigtoft  .     .  264 

6.  Boston  Town  Records 264 

7.  Records  of  Boston  Selectmen 277 

8.  Winthrop's  Journal 278 

9.  The  Records  of  the  Town  of  Cambridge    .     .     .  279 

VII.  BEGINNING  OF  PEACE  NEGOTIATIONS  WITH  " 

AMERICA 

I.  The  Historical  Setting  of  the  Problem    ....  283 

II.  Introductions  to  the  Sources 288 

III.  Questions  and  Suggestions  for  Study       ....  289 

IV.  The  Sources 293 

1.  The  Writings  of  Benjamin  Franklin     ....  293 

2.  Life  of  Shelburne  with  Extracts  from  his  Papers 

and  Correspondence 314 

3.  Letters  from  the  Landsdowne  MSS.    .     .     .     .  315 

4.  Memorials  and  Correspondence  of  Fox      .     .     .  317 

5.  Autobiography  of  the  Duke  of  Graf  ton        .     .     .  317 

VIII.  THE  PARLIAMENT  ACT  OP   1911 

I.  The  Historical  Setting  of  the  Problem     ....  331 

II.  Introductions  to  the  Sources 340 

III.  Questions  and  Suggestions  for  Study     ....  340 

IV.  The  Sources 343 

1.  Seligman,  The  English  Budget  Proposals,  No.  I  .  343 

2.  The  Annual  Register,  Nos.  2,  3,  4,  5,  9,  12,  13,  16, 

17,  18,  19,  20.  22,  23 346 


Contents 

3.  Hansard,  No.  6 349 

4.  The  London  Times,  Nos.  7,  8,  10,  n,  14,  15,  21  .  350 

5.  Law  Reports,  The  Public  General  Statutes,  1911, 

No-  24        363 

APPENDIX 367 

4I5 


id 


Jf 

PREFACE 

'"PHIS  volume  conforms  to  the  basic  notion  of  the 
*  series  to  which  it  belongs,  the  grouping  of  sources 
about  a  given  problem  or  theme  for  intensive  study 
tfd stead  of  stringing  together  "fragments"  in  chrono- 
l6gical  order.  It  is  better  teaching  to  have  a  few 
source  orgies  at  set  times  during  the  course  than  to 
be  habitually  taking  the  sources  in  attenuated  doses. 
Yet  in  one  respect  this  work  is  a  variant:  in  most 
cases  its  sources  are  vertical  rather  than  parallel. 
None  of  these  studies  deals  with  a  single  episode. 
Most  of  them  cover  rather  long  periods  and  are  con- 
cerned with  the  broader  problems  of  the  origin  and 
development  of  certain  political  practices,  with  criti- 
cal periods  in  national  struggles,  or  with  economic 
and  social  changes.  The  editors  have  often  attempted 
to  set  such  problems  while  using  source  books  of  the 
older  type.  The  present  grouping  and  the  introduc- 
tory material  should  greatly  aid  this  kind  of  work. 

The  difficulties  in  preparing  such  a  book  are  ob- 
vious. It  may  well  be  wished  that  the  first  prob- 
lem should  be  the  simplest  one,  and  that  each 
succeeding  problem  should  be  somewhat  more  diffi- 
cult and  complex;  but  the  problems  must  be  taken 


Preface 

up  chronologically,  and  easy  ones  which  have  fj  e 
other  needed  qualities  do  not  always  come  early,  n< 
the  hard  ones  late.  The  origin  of  the  jury  is  P  h 
matter,  while  the  Veto  Bill  of  1911  involves  no 
elaborate  analysis  of  the  sources.  There  is  a  further 
difficult  of  reconciling  the  demand  for  a  neat  prob- 
lem that  would  lend  itself  to  practice  in  handling 
original  materials  and  that  would  give  the  satis- 
faction of  a  clean-cut  solution  with  the  demand  for 
a  group  of  sources  that  will  illustrate  and  reveal  t 
important  things  of  history.  And  the  greatest  dun- 
culty  has  been  that  space  requirements  have  made 
necessary  the  omission  of  some  aspects  of  the  prob- 
lems which  are  both  interesting  and  illuminating. 
Yet  it  is  hoped  that,  while  intensive  work  and 
method  have  been  kapt  ;n  view,  enough  material  has 
been  furnished,  and '.'with  a  sufficient  distribution, 
to  be  useful  for  illustrative  purposes  and  to  stimu- 
late interest.  The  questions  and  suggestions  which 
accompany  the  problems  are  offered  with  many 
misgivings.  The  vital  question  which  provokes 
thought  is  the  question  struck  out  in  the  give-and- 
take  of  class-room  discussion.  Any  questions  print- 
ed with  source  material  must  be  comparatively  tame 
and  formal.  They  may  help  the  student  to  answer 
that  perennial  initial  query,  what  he  is  to  do  with 
the  unfamiliar  stuff  before  him,  and  they  may  serve 
as  starting-points  for  the  work  in  class.  The  ques- 
tions have  not  all  been  fashioned  to  fit  the  average 


undergraduate  intelligence.  Some  of  them,  which 
the  instructor  will  have  no  trouble  in  recognizing, 
are,  like  the  originals  in  geometry;  for  the-  exercise 
and  enjoyment  of  the  ablest  members  of  the  class. 
Students  should  be  diligently  reminded  that  they 
must  study  the  introductory  statements  as  well  as 
the  source  material  itself  before  they  attempt  to 
answer  the  questions.1 

The  book  is  intended  for  use  in  the  more  general 
and  elementary  college  courses  in  English  history. 
If  it  leans  to  the  governmental  it  is  because  the 
editors  feel  that  any  good  course  in  English  history 
must  emphasize  that  aspect.  But  it  is  not  intended 
— as  the  reader  can  see  at  a  glance — -for  any  ad- 
vanced work  in  English  constitutional  history.  A 
book  of  source  problems  will  of-  course  always  be 
used  in  connection v with  a  narrative  text;  hence  the 
sections  entitled  "The  Historical  Setting  of  the 
Problem"  take  many  routine  facts  for  granted.  The 
editors  have  used  these  section*  to  present  such 
material  or  to  urge  such  points^f  view  as  they 
believe  should  be  very  prominently  iri  mind  when 
the  student  attacks  the  sources.  Occasionally  im- 
portant facts  have  been  om^ted  from  the  statements 
introductory  to  the  sources,  when  it  has  been  deemed 
a  legitimate  part  of  the  problem  for  the  student  to 
find  out  these  facts  for  himself. 

1Mr.  White  is  responsible  for  Problems  I-IV>  «n<J  Mr. 
Notestein  for  Problems  V-VIII.  .  *"  \  ^ 


Preface 

There  are  a  few  great  documents  so  indispensable 
to  the  study  of  English  history,  documents  which 
have  become  such  a  standard  tradition  in  teaching 
the  subject,  that  every  source  book,  whatever  its 
plan,  should  print  them  in  full.  It  is  hoped  that 
the  seven  documents  printed  in  the  Appendix  in- 
clude most  of  those  which  belong  beyond  question 
in  such  a  select  list.  Where  the  whole  or  part  of 
any  of  these  documents  is  related  to  one  of  the 
problems,  the  appropriate  reference  has  been  made; 
but  their  independent  position  in  the  Appendix  will 
make  it  convenient  for  the  teacher  to  use  them  in 
any  way  he  may  choose. 

We  desire  to  express  our  thanks  to  all  who  have 
assisted  in  the  preparation  of  the  material,  with  es- 
pecial reference  to  Professor  Munro,  the  general 
editor  of  this  series.  Professor  Bertha  H.  Putnam 
has  given  her  expert  knowledge  very  freely  and 
cordially  in  connection  with  phases  of  Problem  IV; 
Dr.  W.  S.  McKechnie  and  his  publishers,  Messrs. 
Maclehose,  have  distinctly  increased  the  worth  of 
the  book  by  their  ready  permission  to  use  his  trans- 
lation of  Magna  Carta,  and  we  are  indebted  to 
Professor  Cheyney  for  t^he  use  of  his  translation 
of  the  Extent  of  the  Manor  of  Borley.  Professor 
Seligman  has  kindly  allowed  us  the  use  of  his  ex- 
cellent summary  of  the  Budget  of  1909.  Upon  the 
Problem  of  the  Parliament  Act,  Professor  C.  D.  Allin 
has  given  wise  suggestion.  For  help  upon  some  of 


Preface 

the  American  aspects  of  Problems  VI  and  VII  the 
writers  are  very  thankful  to  Professor  Carl  Becker 
and  to  two  former  colleagues,  Professors  W.  M.  West 
and  F.  M.  Anderson. 

A.  B.  W. 

W.  N. 

MINNEAPOLIS. 
July  7,  1915. 


INTRODUCTION 

"TWENTY  years  ago  the  value  of  the  use  of 
•*•  sources  in  teaching  history  was  generally  rec- 
ognized. But  usually  only  detached  fragments  were 
employed,  and  these  served  only  to  interest  the 
student  and  to  vivify  the  narrative.  There  were 
a  few  exceptions,  such  as  some  of  the  numbers  in 
the  series  of  Translations  and  Reprints  from  the 
Original  Sources  of  European  History,  published  by 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  Even  these,  how- 
ever, did  not  furnish  any  setting  for  the  problem,  or 
suggest  the  important  questions  which  were  to  be 
solved.  Consequently  the  average  teacher  was  not 
able  to  employ  such  material  to  the  best  advantage. 
When  the  first  volume  in  this  series,  by  Duncalf 
and  Krey,  was  published,  a  very  important  advance 
was  made.  For  then  there  was  a  sufficient  amount 
of  apparatus  to  enable  teachers  to  use  the  material 
in  a  satisfactory  manner.  One  keen  reviewer  wrote, 
"The  thorough  carrying  out  of  the  method  even  in 
this  small  field  will  afford  critical  training  such  as 
few  students  of  history,  we  fear,  now  get  in  either 


Introduction 

school  or  college."  The  same  may  be  said  of  the 
present  volume. 

Among  its  strong  points,  three  especially  may  be 
enumerated.  The  stress  is  laid  upon  the  develop- 
ment of  the  English  government,  which  is  the  most 
important  feature  to  be  emphasized  in  the  study 
of  English  history.  The  connection  between  Eng- 
lish institutions  and  those  of  New  England  is  brought 
out  in  one  of  the  problems.  This  suggests  the  self- 
evident  truth  that  the  early  settlers  in  New  England 
got  their  experience  in  governmental  affairs  not 
from  their  knowledge  of  or  participation  in  the 
central  government  of  England,  but  because  they 
were  necessarily  concerned  with  the  affairs  of  their 
own  parish.  This  truth,  although  self-evident,  has 
too  frequently  been  lost  sight  of  in  our  teaching  of 
English  history.  Lastly,  the  connection  between  the 
present  and  the  past  is  well  brought  out,  notably  in 
the  last  problem,  so  that  the  student  will  be  led  to 
feel  that  the  history  which  he  has  been  studying  is 
essential  for  an  understanding  of  present-day  con- 
ditions. 

It  was  a  fortunate  chance  that  two  scholars,  one 
of  whom  had  specialized  in  medieval  English  his- 
tory and  the  other  in  the  modern  history  of  Great 
Britain,  should  have  been  found  to  undertake  this 
task.  Probably  no  one  author  could  have  been  as 
well  equipped  for  this  work.  Two  results  are  es- 
pecially noteworthy.  First,  that  the  translations 


Introduction 

of  the  medieval  documents  are  scholarly  and  accu- 
rate; no  one,  except  a  specialist,  realizes  how  diffi- 
cult it  is  to  make  an  adequate  translation.  Second- 
ly, some  of  the  material  included  is  distinctly  novel 
in  character,  and  bears  witness  to  the  broad  knowl- 
edge of  the  editors.  It  was  a  happy  idea  to  publish, 
in  the  Appendix,  some  of  the  more  important  docu- 
ments for  the  development  of  the  English  govern- 
ment. This  will,  in  many  cases,  obviate  the  neces- 
sity of  the  purchase  of  an  additional  volume.  I  am 
confident  that  this  book  is  the  most  valuable  aid 
which  has  been  prepared  for  the  teaching  of  English 
history  in  secondary  schools  or  in  elementary  col- 
lege classes. 

DANA  C.  MUNPO. 
UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


PROBLEM  I 
I.— Alfred  and  the  Danes 


SOURCE   PROBLEMS 
IN    ENGLISH    HISTORY 

Alfred  and  the  Danes 

I.    THE   HISTORICAL   SETTING   OF   THE    PROBLEM 

IT  is  important  to  understand  at  the  outset  that  this 
first  source  study  centers  in  the  most  critical  period 
of  a  movement  which  affected  not  England  only,  but  the 
whole  of  Europe.  The  invasions  and  settlements  from 
the  Scandinavian  north  spread  "from  Iceland  to  Con- 
stantinople, from  Russia  to  Spain."  These  tremendous 
outpourings,  which  were  progressing  during  the  ninth 
century  in  a  veritable  geometrical  ratio,  were  the  last 
in  that  vast  series  of  "wanderings  of  the  peoples"  which 
had  brought  the  Roman  Empire  to  an  end  and  created 
a  new  Europe.  In  the  earlier  movements  the  northern 
peninsulas  had  had  no  share.  Britain  had  been  invaded 
and  settled  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries  by  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  at  the  same  time  that  the  continental  portions  of 
the  Empire  were  overrun  by  less  distant  Teutonic  tribes; 
but  the  extreme  north  remained  then  and  for  long  after- 

3 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

ward  strangely  inactive.  Now  in  the  ninth  century  the 
flood  which  had  long  held  back  broke  with  the  greater 
fury.  Enough  time  had  passed  for  the  earlier  invaders 
to  assimilate  many  good  things  which  they  found  in  the 
southern  civilization  and  to  make  their  contribution  of 
virile  and  clean  blood.  They  were  already  Christian  in 
more  than  name.  Such  loss  of  classic  civilization  as  was 
inevitable  had  been  suffered.  But  all  had  not  been  lost; 
and  now  the  blackest  centuries  of  the  dark  ages,  the  sixth 
and  seventh,  lay  behind.  Europe  was  getting  well  started 
upon  the  slow  but  hopeful  journey  toward  the  light  of 
modern  times.  Was  this  new  inundation  to  bring  on  a 
second  and  more  hopeless  dark  age? 

Beyond  the  fundamental  cause  of  a  rapidly  increasing 
population  in  lands  not  fitted  to  sustain  it,  several  causes 
more  immediate  to  the  ninth  century  help  to  account  for 
the  viking  raids.  The  first  has  to  do  with  the  northern 
extensions  of  Charlemagne's  empire,  especially  his  gen- 
eration-long struggle  with  Saxony,  ending  finally  in  com- 
plete conquest.  This  struggle  not  seldom  involved  di- 
rectly or  indirectly  the  people  of  Denmark  and  even  of 
Scandinavia,  who  were  led  to  fear  advancing  Christen- 
dom as  their  greatest  foe.  When  they  went  forth  to  con- 
quer they  were  eager  to  strike  at  Christian  states  wher- 
ever found,  and  they  did  not  distinguish  nicely  between 
those  inside  and  outside  the  Prankish  empire.  Of  course 
the  love  of  plunder  and  adventure  played  a  commanding 
part  once  the  wealth  of  the  southern  lands  and  the  weak- 
ness of  their  governments  were  known.  At  first  there 
were  desultory  raids  directed  against  the  places  where  the 
resistance  was  least,  and  with  little  or  no  concerted  action 
among  the  petty  bands  under  their  viking  leaders.  As 
the  years  passed  and  the  invaders  multiplied  and  became 
more  familiar  with  the  invaded  regions,  the  lure  of  the 

4. 


Alfred  and  the  Danes 

south  extended  beyond  that  of  mere  portable  plunder. 
For  these  invaders  came  from  among  a  people  of  settled 
life,  engaged  in  agriculture  and  grazing,  and  the  south 
seemed  a  pleasant  place  to  live  in  as  well  as  to  plunder. 
Real  estate  had  rather  more  enduring  charms  than 
chattels.  This  natural  change  coincided  roughly  with 
new  conditions  at  home,  especially  in  Denmark,  but  soon 
to  some  extent  in  Norway  also.  There  was  a  growing 
unity  and  central  power  under  the  first  real  kings  in  these 
countries.  Piracy,  suppressed  at  home,  spread  abroad,  and 
many  defeated  petty  chiefs,  who  scorned  to  live  in  sub- 
jection, sought  a  new  career  in  the  south.  Moreover,  the 
movements  were  no  longer  monopolized  by  people  who 
were  pirates  by  nature  and  choice,  but  by  the  more  stable, 
land-seeking  element.  Desultory  plundering  raids  were 
gradually  superseded  by  larger  and  better  concerted 
movements  with  permanent  colonization  as  a  prominent 
object.  But  they  never  became  a  national  migration 
under  one  great  leader.  The  political  units  established 
in  the  conquered  lands  were  always  small,  like  the  primi- 
tive settlements  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  who  had  passed 
through  somewhat  analogous  stages — settlements  that 
were  the  resultants  of  the  different  and  often  hostile  aims 
of  many  petty  chiefs.  But  confederations  and  combina- 
tions of  formidable  size  might  hold  together  for  a  short 
time  when  there  was  a  particular  point  to  gain  or  ob- 
stacle to  overcome.  Such  were  the  "armies,"  involving 
hundreds  of  boats  and  thousands  of  men,  met  by  Alfred 
and  the  brother,  Ethelred,  who  ruled  just  before  him. 

The  viking  raids  became  serious  in  England  late  in 
Egbert's  reign,  about  the  year  834.  From  that  time 
there  was  but  slight  cessation  until  the  crisis  was  passed 
in  Alfred's  reign,  and  as  a  result  of  his  great  leadership. 
The  English  invasions  were  very  closely  bound  up  with 

5 


Source   Problems  in  English  History 

those  on  the  Continent  and  in  Ireland,  the  same  bands 
seeking  either  side  of  the  North  Sea,  the  English,  or  St. 
George's,  Channel,  according  as  the  resistance  on  the  one 
side  or  the  other  was  more  effective.  A  respite  in  one 
country  always  marked  more  serious  trouble  in  another. 
About  855  in  England  the  invading  forces  became  much 
more  numerous  and  their  attacks  better  organized.  This 
date  approximately  marks  the  change,  just  noted,  from 
the  earlier  to  the  later  phase  of  the  invasions.  When 
Alfred,  twenty-two  years  of  age,  came  to  the  throne  in 
871,  northern  and  large  sections  of  central  England  were 
under  Danish  control  and  Wessex  was  hard  beset,  fight- 
ing for  her  life.  Alfred's  year  of  succession  was  his 
"year  of  battles."  Despite  his  wonderful  efforts  and 
his  many  partial  or  complete  successes,  the  situation  did 
not  clear.  During  875  and  876,  both  the  entire  Continent 
and  Ireland  were  freer  from  Scandinavian  invasions  than 
they  had  been  for  very  many  years.  This  constituted  a 
sinister  prospect  for  England,  and  the  crisis  of  the  reign 
was  near.  The  little  country  of  Wessex  was  the  ob- 
jective of  most  of  the  important  viking  forces  then  operat- 
ing in  Europe.  This  fact  and  the  fact  that  the  situation 
was  dominated  by  a  real  hero  give  compelling  interest  to 
the  story  that  has  come  down  to  us  in  these  brief  and  often 
obscure  old  chronicles.  If  England  had  been  completely 
conquered,  the  Northmen  would  have  gained  vastly  in 
prestige  and  would  have  possessed  an  effective  base  of 
operations  against  western  Europe.  Alfred  did  his  work 
in  England,  but  there  needs  no  stretching  of  the  facts  to 
show  its  European  significance.  When  he  came  to  the 
throne  the  Northmen  seemed  to  have  the  conquest  of  one 
great  Christian  nation  well  within  their  grasp,  and  others 
were  sorely  threatened.  In  the  years  following,  the  criti- 
cal conflict  was  waged  with  this  first  great  opponent  that 

6 


Alfred  and  the  Danes 

the  vikings  had  encountered  since  their  more  wide-spread 
and  purposeful  efforts  to  colonize  and  conquer  the  south. 
Before  his  reign  ended  the  tide  had  turned  and  the  chances 
were  much  more  than  even  that  the  hopeful  beginnings 
of  medieval  civilization  would  be  preserved.  Probably  at 
not  many  times  in  history  has  more  depended  upon  a 
single  great  spirit  than  in  certain  dark  weeks  and  months 
of  this  ninth-century  English  reign. 


II.    INTRODUCTIONS   TO   THE   SOURCES 

i.  The  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle. 

"This  is  the  oldest  historical  work  written  in  any 
Germanic  language,  and  is  the  basis  of  most  of  our  knowl- 
edge of  Anglo-Saxon  history  from  the  year  732  onward."  l 
For  perhaps  two  centuries  before  Alfred,  one  or  more 
brief  local  annals,  written  in  Latin,  appear  to  have  been 
kept  in  quite  strictly  contemporaneous  fashion.  Under 
some  unknown  influence  these  became  expanded  and  de- 
veloped about  855,  shortly  before  the  death  of  Alfred's 
father.  Again  there  was  a  striking  development  late  in 
Alfred's  reign  (893),  and  clearly  under  his  influence.  The 
record  for  893-897  is  particularly  full  and  intelligent.  It 
seems  very  probable  that  Alfred  was  the  first  to  conceive 
the  idea  of  a  national  chronicle  written  in  the  vernacular; 
and  writers  inspired  and  directed  by  him  appear  to  have 
used  what  previously  existing  material  they  could  obtain 
for  writing  up  and  making  the  new  chronicle  complete 
down  to  their  time.  Bede's  great  history  was  the  main 
source  to  732.  From  then  to  the  middle  of  the  ninth 
century  they  used  the  meager  but  more  contemporaneous 
Latin  annals.  But  even  for  the  period  of  Alfred's  public 
1  Gross,  Sources  and  Literature,  p.  177. 
7 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

career  the  Chronicle  is  far  from  satisfactory.  Three  years 
(892,  899,  900)  have  no  record  at  all.  "Eight  have 
merely  brief  entries  of  a  line  or  two  regarding  the  move- 
.ments  of  the  Danish  army,  or  liere;  and  of  these  eight 
entries  the  last  three  have  nothing  to  do  with  England, 
being  concerned  with  the  doings  of  the  here  on  the  Con- 
tinent. Two  other  very  brief  entries  deal  with  the  send- 
ing of  couriers  to  Rome,  and  with  certain  obits."  x  After 
Alfred,  the  Chronicle  ceased  to  be  a  unit,  records  being 
kept  more  or  less  independently  at  about  five  different 
religious  houses.  Hence  it  is  correct  to  speak  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  chronicles.  But  the  national  idea  remained, 
and  Alfred's  historical  impulse  showed  extraordinary 
vitality.  It  had  not  spent  itself  at  the  Conquest,  and 
this  first  and  great  English  history  did  not  end  until  the 
middle  of  the  twelfth  century. 
2.  Asser1  s  Life  of  King  Alfred. 

It  is  now  generally  believed  that  this  work  was  written 
by  a  contemporary  of  Alfred  and  probably  by  the  man 
under  whose  name  it  has  passed.  Asser,  bishop  of  St. 
David's  and  later  bishop  of  Sherborne,  appears  to  have 
spent  several  years  about  the  middle  of  the  reign  at 
Alfred's  court.  Judging  from  his  own  account,  he  was 
aiding  the  king  in  his  studies  and  in  his  literary  under- 
takings. The  Latin  "Life"  which  he  has  left  us  follows 
a  most  unusual  plan.  Its  foundation  is  a  series  of  annals 
covering  the  years  851-887;  and  in  these  annals  are  in- 
serted at  various  places  sections  of  personal  comment 
and  anecdote  relative  to  Alfred.  These  latter  seem  to  be 
entirely  original  with  Asser,  while  the  annalistic  portions 
clearly  bear  a  close  relation  to  the  corresponding  entries 
in  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle.  Plummer  remarks  that 
the  biographical  sections  were  inserted  in  a  way  "so  in- 

1  Plummer,  Alfred,  p.  12. 
8 


Alfred  and  the  Danes 

consequent  and  inartistic,  that  one  is  sometimes  almost 
inclined  to  think  that  the  compiler,  while  keeping  his  an- 
nals (as  he  could  hardly  help  doing)  in  chronological  order, 
cut  up  his  biographical  matter  into  strips,  put  the  strips 
in  a  hat,  and  then  took  them  out  in  any  order  which 
chance  might  dictate."  Yet  the  same  style,  language,  and 
oddities  of  thought  appear  in  both  parts  and  force  the 
conclusion  that  there  was  a  single  author.  The  passage 
here  used  is,  it  will  be  seen,  from  the  annals  Asser  prob- 
ably wrote  while  Alfred  was  still  alive.  Why  his  work 
stopped  so  suddenly  at  887  is  not  known. 
3.  Ethelwerd's  Chronicle. 

Ethelwerd,  who  claimed  that  he  was  the  great-great- 
grandson  of  Alfred's  brother  Ethelred,  wrote  late  in  the 
tenth  century  and  brought  his  chronicle  down  to  973. 
He  dedicated  his  work  to  a  kinswoman,  Matilda,  who,  he 
states,  was  descended  in  the  same  number  of  generations 
from  Alfred.  It  has  been  shown  that  this  was  Matilda 
of  Swabia,  granddaughter  of  the  Emperor  Otto  I.  and  his 
first  wife  Edith,  daughter  of  Edward  the  Elder  of  Eng- 
land. Ethelwerd  was  probably  the  ealdorman  of  that 
name  who  witnessed  a  number  of  charters  between  976 
and  998,  and  who  is  otherwise  heard  of  in  that  period. 
His  very  pompous  and  obscure  Latin  history  is  yet  worthy 
of  study  because  it  is  clear  that  he  used  an  earlier  version 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  than  any  extant.  This  ver- 
sion lacked  some  things  found  in  the  later  manuscripts, 
but  clearly  contained  points  of  importance  which  they 
lack.  These  would  have  been  lost  but  for  Ethelwerd's 
work.  But  sometimes  he  did  more  than  follow  his  copy 
of  the  Chronicle;  and  in  view  of  his  time,  his  position,  and 
his  connections  with  the  House  of  Wessex,  it  seems  likely 
that  he  had  access  to  such  written  and  traditional  ma- 
terial as  to  make  his  additions  worthy  of  notice.  It 

9 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

was  most  remarkable  for  any  but  a  churchman  to  under- 
take to  write  a  chronicle.     Undoubtedly  his  lack  of  a  cleri- 
cal training  accounts  largely  for  his  very  bad  Latin. 
4.  Alfred  and  Guthrum's  Peace. 

There  is  no  reasonable  doubt  that  this  is  the  authentic 
text  of  an  undated  treaty  drawn  up  between  Alfred  and 
the  Danes.  It  was  written  in  Anglo-Saxon.  Sufficiently 
interesting  and  instructive  in  itself,  the  treaty  has  an 
added  importance  because  of  the  great  dearth  of  official 
documents  of  all  sorts  from  Alfred's  time.  After  using 
chronicles  and  being  constantly  on  the  alert  for  errors 
growing  out  of  bias,  carelessness,  or  ignorance,  it  is  pleas- 
ant to  use  even  a  small  bit  of  evidence  with  which  no  care 
of  that  sort  has  to  be  taken. 

III.    QUESTIONS  AND  SUGGESTIONS  FOR  STUDY 

1.  Make  a  list  of  the  important  differences  in  style  and  sub- 

ject-matter between   the  Anglo-Saxon    Chronicle  and 
Asser. 

2.  Prove,  if  possible,  by  a  careful  comparison  whether  Asser 

copied  from  the  Chronicle  or  whether  the  Chronicle 
was  copied  from  Asser. 

3.  Is  any  hint  to  be  found  of  Asser's  nationality? 

4.  What  are  the  obvious  faults  of  Ethelwerd's  method  of 

writing  history? 

5.  What  bits  of  information  are  to  be  gathered  from  Ethel- 

werd  not  obtainable  from  the  other  sources? 

6.  How  does  the  class  of  source  material  to  which  Alfred  and 

Guthrum's  Peace  belongs  differ  from  chronicles?    Why 
must  chronicle  material  be  used  with  greater  caution? 

7.  On  an  outline  map  of  England  indicate  the  places  men- 

tioned here  in  Alfred's  campaigns  which  have  been 
located  with  a  fair  degree  of  certainty;   also  draw  the 
boundary  between  Alfred's  dominions  and  the  Dane- 
law described  in  Alfred  and  Guthrum's  Peace. 
10 


Alfred  and  the  Danes 

8.  What  specific  point  of  time  in  the  period  here  shown  would 

you  pick  out  as  marking  the  crisis  or  turning-point  in 
the  struggle? 

9.  How  do  you  account  for  the  slight  entries  in  the  chronicles 

for  some  of  these  years? 
10.  What  seems  to  have  been  the  typical  viking  method  of 

making  an  incursion  into  a  country? 
n.  By  studying  it  in  connection  with  the  other  sources,  assign  a 

date  to  Alfred  and  Gut hr urn's  Peace.     Find  out  whether 

or  not  the  date  you  have  chosen  is  the  one  which  has 

usually  been  assigned  to  it. 

12.  What  are  the  objects  of  the  last  four  articles  of  Alfred  and 

Guthrum's  Peace,  and  what  kind  of  relations  between 
English  and  Danes  do  they  seem  to  expect?  Are  Eng- 
lish and  Danes  placed  on  a  strict  equality?  What 
three  well-known  early  judicial  practices  are  illustrated 
in  this  document? 

13.  What  indications  are  there  of  relations,  political  or  of  other 

kinds,  existing  between  Wessex  and  the  Continent? 

14.  Draw  up  a  statement  of  the  continental  invasions  of  the 

Northmen  based  on  the  accounts  here  given. 

The  following  suggestions  for  further  study  involve  some 
supplementary  reading: 

1.  By  use  of  Plummer's  Life  and  Times  of  Alfred  and  Steven- 

son's A sser's  Life  of  King  Alfred,  trace  the  history  of  the 
old  legend  of  Alfred  in  the  cowherd's  hut  and  the 
burning  of  the  cakes.  Show  first  what  is  known  of  the 
origin  of  the  story;  secondly,  when  and  how  it  became 
incorporated  in  Asser's  text;  and  thirdly,  how  modern 
scholarship  has  dealt  with  it. 

2.  In  some  detailed  history  of  the  period,  look  up  the  legend 

of  the  Raven  Flag  mentioned  in  the  Chronicle  as  lost 
by  the  Danes  in  878. 

3.  Why  was  it  that  the  final  conquest  of  England  by  the 

Danes  in  the  eleventh  century  did  not  threaten  English 
or  continental  civilization  to  the  same  extent  that 
these  ninth-century  invasion*  did? 
a 


IV.    The  Sources 

i.  The  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle.     (Anglo-Saxon  text 
and  translation,  edition  of  Benjamin  Thorpe 
in  the  Rolls  Series.) 
878.  In  this  year,  at  Midwinter,  after  Twelfth- 

s  night,  the  army  stole  itself  away  to  Chippenham, 
and  harried  the  West  Saxons'  land,  and  settled  there, 
and  drove  many  of  the  people  over  sea,  and  of  the 
remainder  the  greater  portion  they  harried,  and  the 
people  submitted  to  them,  save  the  king,  Alfred,  and 

10  he,  with  a  little  band,  withdrew  to  the  woods  and 
moor-fastnesses.  And  in  the  same  winter  the 
brother  of  Inwar  and  Halfdene  was  in  Wessex,  in 
Devonshire,  with  twenty-three  ships,  and  he  was 
there  slain,  and  with  him  eight  hundred  and  forty 

is  men  of  his  force.  And  there  was  the  standard  taken 
which  they  call  the  Raven.  And  the  Easter  after, 
Alfred,  with  a  little  band,  wrought  a  fortress  at  Athel- 
ney,  and  from  that  work  warred  on  the  army,  with 
that  portion  of  the  men  of  Somerset  that  was 

*>  nearest.  Then  in  the  seventh  week  after  Easter 
he  rode  to  Egbert's  stone,  on  the  east  of  Selwood, 

j? 


Alfred  and  the  Danes 

and  there  came  to  meet  him  all  the  Somersetshire 
men,  and  the  Wiltshire  men,  and  that  part  of  Hamp- 
shire which  remained  of  it  on  this  side  of  the  sea; 
and  they  were  rejoiced  on  seeing  him;  and  one  night 

s  after,  he  went  from  the  camp  to  ^Eglea,  and  one  night 
after  that  to  Edington,  and  there  fought  against  all 
the  army,  and  put  it  to  flight,  and  rode  after  it,  as 
far  as  the  works,  and  there  sat  fourteen  nights. 
And  then  the  army  gave  him  hostages  with  great 

10  oaths  that  they  would  depart  from  his  kingdom; 
and  also  promised  him  that  their  king  would  receive 
baptism;  and  that  they  so  fulfilled ;  and  three  weeks 
after,  King  Guthrum  came  to  him,  with  thirty  of  the 
men  who  were  most  honorable  in  the  army,  at  Aller, 

is  which  is  opposite  to  Athelney;  and  the  king  received 
him  there  at  baptism;  and  his  chrism-loosing  was 
at  Wedmore;  and  he  was  twelve  nights  with  the 
king;  and  he  largely  gifted  him  and  his  companions 
with  money. 

ao  879.  In  this  year  the  army  went  to  Cirencester 
from  Chippenham,  and  sat  there  one  year.  And 
in  that  year  a  body  of  vikings  assembled,  and  sat 
down  at  Fulham  on  the  Thames.  And  that  same 
year  the  sun  was  eclipsed  one  hour  of  the  day. 

as  880.  In  this  year  the  army  went  from  Ciren- 
cester to  East  Anglia,  and  occupied  and  divided  the 
land.  And  in  the  same  year  the  army,  which  had 
before  sat  down  at  Fulham,  went  over  sea  to  Ghent 
in  France,  and  sat  there  one  year. 

13 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

88 1.  In  this  year  the  army  went  up  into  France, 
and  the  French  fought  against  them;  and  there  was 
the  army  horsed  after  the  fight. 

882.  In  this  year  the  army  went  up  along  the 
s  Meuse  far  into  France,   and  there  sat  one  year. 

And  that  same  year  King  Alfred  went  out  to  sea 
with  ships,  and  fought  against  four  ship-crews  of 
Danish  men,  and  took  two  of  the  ships,  and  the 
men  were  slain  that  were  therein;  and  the  two  ship- 
10  crews  surrendered  to  him;  and  they  were  sorely 
fatigued  and  wounded  before  they  surrendered. 

883.  In  this  year  the  army  went  up  the  Scheldt 
to  Conde,  and  there  sat  one  year.     And  Marinus 
the  pope  then  sent  lignum  domini  [of  Christ's  cross] 

ts  to  King  Alfred.  And  in  the  same  year  Sighelm  and 
Athelstan  conveyed  to  Rome  the  alms  which  the 
king  had  vowed  [to  send]  thither,  and  also  to  India, 
to  St.  Thomas,  and  to  St.  Bartholomew,  when  they 
sat  down  against  the  army  at  London;  and  there, 

»o  God  be  thanked,  their  prayer  was  very  successful 
after  that  vow. 

884.  In  this  year  the  army  went  up  the  Somme  to 
Amiens,  and  there  sat  one  year.     In  this  year  died 
the  benevolent  Bishop  ^Ethelwold.1 

a*  885.  In  this  year  the  fore-mentioned  army  sepa- 
rated into  two;  one  part  [went]  east,  the  other  part 
to  Rochester,  and  besieged  the  city,  and  wrought 
another  fastness  about  themselves;  but  they,  never- 

1  Evidently  a  copyist's  error;   ^Sthelwold  died  in  984. 


Alfred  and  the  Danes 

theless,  defended  the  city  until  King  Alfred  came 
without  with  his  force.  Then  the  army  went  to  their 
ships,  and  abandoned  the  fastness;  and  they  were 
there  deprived  of  their  horses,  and  forthwith,  in  the 

s  same  summer,  withdrew  over  sea.  And  the  same 
year  King  Alfred  sent  a  naval  force  from  Kent  to 
East  Anglia.  As  soon  as  they  came  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Stour,  then  met  them  sixteen  ships  of  vikings,  and 
they  fought  against  them,  and  captured  all  the  ships, 

»o  and  slew  the  men.  When  they  were  returning  home- 
ward with  the  booty,  a  great  naval  force  of  vikings 
met  them,  and  then  fought  against  them  on  the 
same  day,  and  the  Danish  gained  the  victory.  In 
the  same  year,  before  midwinter,  Carloman,  king 

»5  of  the  Franks,  died,  and  a  wild  boar  killed  him;  and 
one  year  before  his  brother  died;  he  also  had  the 
western  kingdom;  and  they  were  both  sons  of  Lewis, 
who  also  had  the  western  kingdom,  and  died  in  the  year 
when  the  sun  was  eclipsed,  who  was  the  son  of  Charles, 

ao  whose  daughter  Ethelwulf ,  king  of  the  West  Saxons, 
had  for  his  queen.  And  in  the  same  year  a  larger  naval 
force  assembled  among  the  Old  Saxons;  and  there 
was  a  great  fight  twice  in  that  year,  and  the  Saxons 
had  the  victory;  and  there  were  Frisians  with  them. 

as  In  that  same  year  Charles  succeeded  to  the  western 
kingdom,  and  to  all  the  kingdom  on  this  side  of 
the  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  beyond  this  sea,  as 
his  great-grandfather  had  it,  excepting  the  Lid- 
wiccas  [Brittany].  Charles  was  the  son  of  Lewis, 

15 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

Lewis  was  brother  of  Charles,  who  was  father  of 
Judith,  whom  King  Ethelwulf  had;  and  they  were 
sons  of  Lewis;  Lewis  was  son  of  the  old  Charles; 
Charles  was  the  son  of  Pepin.  And  in  the  same 

s  year  the  good  Pope  Marinus  died,  who  freed  the 
Angle  race's  school,  at  the  prayer  of  Alfred,  king  of 
•the  West  Saxons;  and  he  sent  him  great  gifts,  and 
part  of  the  rood  on  which  Christ  suffered.  And  in 
the  same  year  the  army  in  East  Anglia  brake  peace 

10  with  King  Alfred. 

886.  In  this  year  the  army  again  went  west, 
which  had  before  landed  in  the  east,  and  then  up  the 
Seine,  and  there  took  winter  quarters  at  the  city 
of  Paris.  In  the  same  year  King  Alfred  restored 

is  London;  and  all  the  Angle  race  turned  to  him  that 
were  not  in  the  bondage  of  the  Danish  men ;  and  he 
then  committed  the  burgh  to  the  keeping  of  the 
ealdorman  Ethered. 
2.  Asser 's  Life  of  King  Alfred.     (Latin  text  in  W.  H. 

30  Stevenson's  Asser's  Life  of  King  Alfred.   Trans- 

lation by  the  Editor.1) 

In  the  year  of  our  Lord's  incarnation  the  eight 
hundred  and  seventy-eighth,  and  the  thirtieth  from 
King  Alfred's  birth,  the  oft-mentioned  army  left 

as  Exeter   and   came    to    Chippenham,    a    royal    vill 
located   in  the  north  of  Wiltshire  on   the  eastern 

1  Unfortunately,  Professor  Cook's  excellent  translation  was  not 
available  for  the  present  purpose.  (A.  S.  Cook,  Asser's  Life  of  King 
Alfred.  Ginn  &  Co.,  1906.) 

16 


Alfred  and  the  Danes 

bank  of  the  river  called  Avon  in  Welsh,  and  there 
wintered.  And  through  force  of  arms  and  want, 
as  well  as  through  fear,  they  drove  many  of  the 
people  there  to  go  beyond  sea,  and  brought  most  of 

s  the  inhabitants  of  the  district  under  their  rule. 

At  the  same  time  the  said  King  Alfred,  with  a  few 
of  his  nobles  and  some  knights  and  men  of  his  house- 
hold, was  in  great  distress  leading  an  unquiet  life 
in  the  woods  and  marshes  of  Somerset.  For  he  had 

10  no  means  of  support  except  what  he  took  in  frequent 
raids  by  stealth  or  openly  from  the  pagans,  or  in- 
deed from  Christians  who  had  submitted  to  pagan 
rule. 

In  the  same  year  the  brother  of  Inwar  and  Half- 
dene  with  twenty-three  boats  sailed  forth  from  the 

*s  country  of  Dyfed,1  where  he  had  wintered  and 
where  he  had  slain  many  Christians,  to  Devon;  and 
there,  before  the  stronghold  of  Cynwit,2  he  with 
twelve  hundred  others  was  miserably  cut  off  in  his 
wrong-doing  by  the  king's  followers,  for  many  of 

ao  the  latter  had  shut  themselves  up  there  for  safety. 
But  when  the  pagans  saw  the  stronghold  unprepared 
and  unguarded  except  for  defenses  built  after  our 
manner,  they  did  not  venture  to  storm  it  because 
from  the  nature  of  the  ground  the  place  was  very 

as  secure  on  every  side  except  on  the  east,  as  I  myself 
have  seen;  instead  they  began  to  besiege  it,  thinking 
that  those  men  would  quickly  be  forced  to  surrender 

1  The  extreme  south  of  Wales.  *  Location  unknown. 

17 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

because  of  hunger  and  thirst,  for  there  was  no  water 
near.  But  it  did  not  turn  out  as  they  expected. 
For  the  Christians,  before  they  suffered  any  such 
straits,  prompted  by  God  to  believe  it  much  better 

s  to  win  either  death  or  victory,  at  dawn  made  an 
unexpected  sortie  upon  the  pagans,  and  shortly  slew 
most  of  them,  together  with  their  king,  only  a  few 
escaping  to  the  boats. 

In  the  same  year  after  Easter,  King  Alfred,  with 

10  a  few  to  help  him,  made  a  stronghold  in  a  place  called 
Athelney,  and  thence  kept  tirelessly  making  attacks 
upon  the  pagans  with  his  Somersetshire  retainers. 
And  again  in  the  seventh  week  after  Easter  he  rode 
to  Egbert's  Stone,  which  is  in  the  eastern  part  of 

is  the  forest  called  Selwood — in  Latin  "Sylva  Magna," 
in  Welsh  "Coit  Maur" — and  there  met  him  there  all 
the  dwellers  about  the  districts  of  Somerset,  Wiltshire, 
and  Hampshire,  who  had  not  through  fear  of  the 
pagans  gone  beyond  sea;  and  when  they  saw  the 

ao  king,  after  such  great  sufferings,  almost  as  one  risen 
from  the  dead,  they  were  filled  with  unbounded  joy, 
as  it  was  right  they  should  be;  and  they  pitched 
camp  there  for  one  night.  At  dawn  the  next  morning 
the  king  moved  his  camp  thence  and  came  to  a 

«s  place  called  ^Eglea,1  and  there  encamped  one  night. 
Moving  his  standards  thence  the  next  morning, 

1  Probably  in  Wiltshire.  "  It  is  probably  an  older  name  of  South- 
leigh  Wood,  or  part  of  it."  Stevenson,  Asset's  Life  of  King  Alfred, 
p.  272. 

18 


Alfred  and  the  Danes 

he  came  to  a  place  called  Edington,  and  with  a  close 
shield-wall  fought  fiercely  against  the  whole  army 
of  the  pagans;  his  attack  was  long  and  spirited, 
and  finally  by  divine  aid  he  triumphed  and  over- 

s  threw  the  pagans  with  a  very  great  slaughter.  He 
pursued  them,  killing  them  as  they  fled  up  to  the 
stronghold,  where  he  seized  all  that  he  found  out- 
side— men,  horses,  and  cattle — slaying  the  men  at 
once;  and  before  the  gates  of  the  pagan  fortress  he 

10  boldly  encamped  with  his  whole  army.  And  when 
he  had  stayed  there  fourteen  days  and  the  pagans 
had  known  the  horrors  of  famine,  cold,  fear,  and  at 
last  of  despair,  they  sought  a  peace  by  which  the 
king  was  to  take  from  them  as  many  named  hostages 

is  as  he  wished  while  he  gave  none  to  them — a  ILnd 
of  peace  that  they  had  never  before  concluded  with 
any  one.  When  the  king  heard  their  message  he 
was  moved  to  pity,  and  of  his  own  accord  received 
from  them  such  designated  hostages  as  he  wished. 

20  In  addition  to  this,  after  the  hostages  were  taken, 
the  pagans  took  oath  that  they  would  most  speedily 
leave  his  kingdom,  and  also  Guthrum,  their  king, 
promised  to  accept  Christianity  and  to  receive  bap- 
tism at  the  hands  of  King  Alfred.  All  these  things 

25  he  and  his  men  fulfilled  as  they  had  promised.  For 
after  three  weeks  Guthrum,  king  of  the  pagans, 
with  thirty  selected  men  of  his  army,  came  to  King 
Alfred  at  a  place  called  Aller  near  Athelney.  And 
Alfred  received  him  as  son  by  adoption,  raising  him 

19 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

from  the  sacred  font  of  baptism;  and  his  chrism- 
loosing1  on  the  eighth  day  was  in  the  royal  vill 
called  Wedmore.  After  he  was  baptized  he  stayed 
with  the  king  twelve  nights,  and  to  him  and  all 

s  the  men  with  him  the  king  generously  gave  many 
valuable  gifts.8 

In  the  year  of  our  Lord's  incarnation  the  eight 
hundred  and  seventy-ninth,  and  the  thirty-first  from 
King  Alfred's  birth,  the  said  army  of  pagans  left 

i«»  Chippenham  according  to  promise  and  went  to  Ciren- 
cester  (in  Welsh  "Cairceri"),  located  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  district  of  the  Hwicce,3  and  there  spent 
a  year. 

In  the  same  year  a  great  army  of  pagans  from 

>s  foreign  parts  sailed  up  the  Thames  River  and  joined 
the  larger  army,  but  wintered  at  a  place  called 
Fulham  by  the  Thames. 

In  the  same  year  an  eclipse  of  the  sun  occurred 
between  nones  and  vespers,  but  nearer  to  nones.4 

ao      In  the  year  of  our  Lord's  incarnation  the  eight 

1  For  an  account  of  this  ceremony,  see  Cook,  Asser's  Life  of  King 
Alfred,  pp.  29-30,  note  3. 

1  The  parallel  passage  in  the  Chronicle  probably  proves  that  this 
was  Aaser's  meaning;  not  only  Guthrum,  but  the  thirty  men  who 
»S  came  with  him,  received  presents.  But  a  strict  construction  of 
Asser's  Latin  undoubtedly  justifies  the  traditional  translation  ac- 
cording to  which  the  men  mentioned  were  Alfred's,  who  joined  the 
king  in  bestowing  gifts  on  Guthrum  only. 

1  Includes  approximately  the  later  counties  of  Gloucester  and 
30  Worcester. 

4  A  full  discussion  of  this  eclipse  may  be  found  in  Stevenson, 
Asser,  pp.  280-286. 

20 


Alfred  and  the  Danes 

hundred  and  eightieth,  and  of  King  Alfred's  life  the 
thirty-second,  the  oft-mentioned  army  of  pagans 
left  Cirencester  and  went  to  the  East  Angles;  and, 
dividing  this  district,  they  began  to  settle  there. 

s  In  the  same  year  the  army  of  pagans  which  had 
wintered  at  Fulham  left  the  island  of  Britain, 
crossed  the  sea,  and  came  to  East  Francia.  It 
remained  for  a  year  at  a  place  called  Ghent. 

In  the  year  of  our  Lord's  incarnation  the  eight 

10  hundred  and  eighty-first,  and  the  thirty-third  from 
King  Alfred's  birth,  the  said  army  penetrated 
farther  into  Francia.  Against  it  the  Franks  fought, 
and  when  the  battle  was  over  the  pagans  had  gotten 
horses  and  became  a  mounted  force. 

is  In  the  year  of  our  Lord's  incarnation  the  eight 
hundred  and  eighty-second,  and  the  thirty-fourth 
from  King  Alfred's  birth,  the  said  army  pushed 
its  boats  up  the  river  Meuse  much  farther  into 
Francia  and  spent  a  year  there. 

»o  And  in  the  same  year  Alfred,  king  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxons,  fought  a  battle  at  sea  against  pagan  boats; 
and  he  took  two  of  them,  having  killed  all  who  were  in 
them.  And  the  commanders  of  two  other  boats,  with 
all  their  fellows,  were  so  thoroughly  beaten  and  so  bad- 

35  ly  wounded  that  they  laid  down  their  arms  and  on 

bended  knees  and  with  humble  prayers  surrendered. 

In  the  year  of  our  Lord's  incarnation  the  eight 

hundred  and  eighty- third,  and  the  thirty-fifth  from 

King  Alfred's  birth,  the  said  army  pushed  its  boats 

21 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

up-stream  along  the  river  Scheldt  to  a  convent  of 

nuns  known  as  Conde,  and  there  remained  one  year. 

In  the  year  of  our  Lord's  incarnation  the  eight 

hundred   and   eighty-fourth,1   and   the   thirty-sixth 

5  from  King  Alfred's  birth,  the  said  army  divided  into 
two  troops.  One  went  to  East  Francia,  and  the  other 
came  to  Kent  in  Britain  and  besieged  the  city  which 
is  called  Rochester  in  Saxon,  and  which  is  located 
on  the  east  bank  of  the  Medway.  Before  its  gate 

10  the  pagans  quickly  built  themselves  a  strong  tower; 
but  they  were  not  able  to  take  the  city,  because  the 
citizens  defended  themselves  vigorously  until  King 
Alfred  came  to  its  aid  with  a  large  army.  And  then 
the  pagans,  on  the  unexpected  arrival  of  the  king,  left 

15  their  tower  and  all  the  horses  which  they  had 
brought  with  them  from  Francia,  and  also  most  of 
their  captives,  and  fled  in  haste  to  their  boats,  while 
the  Saxons  seized  the  captives  and  the  horses.  And 
so  the  pagans  were  forced  by  extreme  necessity  to 

»o  sail  again  into  Francia  that  same  summer. 

In  the  same  year  Alfred,  king  of  the  Anglo-Saxons, 
transferred  his  fleet,  filled  with  warriors,  from  Kent 
to  the  East  Angles  for  the  sake  of  plunder.  And 
when  they  had  come  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  Stour, 

as  suddenly  thirteen  boats  of  the  pagans,  ready  for 
battle,  met  them;  and  a  naval  battle  was  begun 

1 "  Asser  accidentally  omits  the  annal  884,  which  is  a  very  brief 
one  in  the  Chronicle.  Consequently,  he  mechanically  puts  the 
events  of  885  under  884."  Plummet,  Life  and  Times  of  Alfred,  p.  50. 

22 


Alfred  and  the  Danes 

which  was  bitterly  contested  on  both  sides,  but 
which  resulted  in  the  killing  of  all  the  pagans  and 
the  seizure  of  all  their  boats  and  goods.  However, 
while  the  victorious  royal  fleet  was  resting,  the 

s  pagans  who  lived  in  the  land  of  the  East  Angles 
gathered  boats  together  from  any  place  in  which 
they  could  find  them  and  met  the  king's  fleet  at  the 
mouth  of  the  same  river,  and  in  the  battle  which 
followed  gained  the  victory. 

10  In  the  same  year  also  Carloman,  king  of  the  East 
Franks,  while  on  a  boar-hunt  was  so  horribly  bitten 
by  a  boar  that  he  died.  His  brother  was  Lewis,  who 
had  died  the  year  before  and  who  was  also  king  of 
the  Franks;  they  were  both  sons  of  Lewis,  king  of 

is  the  Franks.  This  was  the  Lewis  who  had  died  in 
the  above-mentioned  year  in  which  the  eclipse  took 
place,  and  who  was  son  of  Charles,  king  of  the 
Franks,  whose  daughter  Judith  was,  with  her 
father's  consent,  taken  as  queen  by  Ethelwulf,  king 

*>  of  the  West  Saxons. 

Moreover,  in  the  same  year  a  great  army  of  pagans 
came  from  Germany  to  the  land  of  the  Old  Sax- 
ons, in  Saxon  called  "Eald  Seaxum."  Against  them 
these  same  Saxons  and  the  Frisians  joined  forces  and 

»s  fought  bravely  twice  in  that  year.  By  divine  mercy 
the  Christians  won  both  these  battles. 

Also  in  this  year  Charles,  king  of  the  Germans, 
acquired,  with  the  voluntary  consent  of  all,  the 
kingdom  of  the  East  Franks  and  all  the  kingdoms 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

which  are  between  the  Tyrrhenian  Sea  and  that  ocean 
gulf  which  lies  between  the  Old  Saxons  and  the  Gauls, 
excepting  the  kingdom  of  America.1  This  Charles 
was  the  son  of  King  Lewis,  and  Lewis  was  the  brother 
s  of  that  Charles,  king  of  the  Franks,  who  was  father 
of  Judith,  the  above-mentioned  queen;  and  these 
two  brothers  were  sons  of  Lewis,  who  was  the  son 
of  Charles,  the  son  of  Pippin. 

In  the  same  year  Pope  Marinus  of  blessed  memory 

10  went  the  way  of  all  flesh.  He  it  was  who  for  love 
and  at  the  petition  of  Alfred,  king  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxons,  graciously  released  the  colony  of  the  Saxons 
residing  in  Rome  from  all  tribute  and  toll.  Indeed, 
he  took  the  pccasion  to  send  many  gifts  to  the  said 

is  king;  among  which  was  no  small  portion  of  that 
most  holy  and  revered  cross  on  which  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  hung  for  the  salvation  of  all  men. 

And  also  in  this  year  the  army  of  pagans  which  was 
living  among  the  East  Angles  disgracefully  broke  the 

»o  peace  which  it  had  entered  into  with  King  Alfred.2 
****** 

In  the  year  of  our  Lord's  incarnation  the  eight 
hundred  and  eighty-sixth,  and  the  thirty-eighth  of 

1  Brittany. 

•*  '  At  this  point  in  the  annals,  a  long  section  of  more  strictly  bio- 
graphical matter  is  introduced.  In  this  the  following  topics  are 
treated:  Alfred's  maladies;  his  children  and  their  education;  his 
varied  pursuits;  his  scholarly  associates;  Asser's  negotiations  with 
Alfred;  the  Welsh  princes  who  submitted  to  Alfred,  and  how  be 
*o  rewarded  their  submission. 

24 


Alfred  and  the  Danes   0 

Alfred's  life,  the  oft-mentioned  army  fleeing  from 
this  region  went  again  into  the  land  of  the  West 
Franks;  they  entered  by  the  river  called  Seine  and 
pushed  far  up-stream  in  their  boats  even  to  the  city 
s  of  Paris,  and  there  wintered.  And  they  laid  out 
their  camp  on  both  sides  of  the  river  near  to  the 
bridge  in  order  to  keep  the  citizens  from  crossing — 
for  this  city  is  located  on  a  small  island  in  the  middle 
of  the  river.  And  they  besieged  the  city  that  whole 

10  year,  but  through  God's  favor  and  the  vigorous  de- 
fense of  the  citizens  they  could  not  break  the  forti- 
fications. 

In  the  same  year  Alfred,  king  of  the  Anglo-Saxons, 
after  the  burning  of  cities  and  the  slaughter  of  peo- 

is  pies,  honorably  restored  the  city  of  London  and 
made  it  habitable;  and  he  intrusted  its  defense  to 
Ethelred,  ealdorman  of  the  Mercians.  And  all  the 
Angles  and  Saxons  who  had  before  been  widely 
scattered  or  who  were  in  captivity  1  with  the  pagans 

20  voluntarily  turned  to  the  king  and  placed  themselves 
under  his  rule. 

3.  The  Chronicle  of  Ethelwerd.  (Latin  text  in  Pe- 
trie's  Monumenta  Historica  Britannica.  This 
translation,  with  slight  changes,  from  J.  Steven- 

»s  son's  The  Church  Historians  of  England.) 

The  barbarians  renewed  the  peace,  with  a  fraudu- 
lent intention,  and  more  hostages  than  were  demand- 

1  Undoubtedly  a  mistranslation  from  the  Chronicle  for  "who  were 
not  in  captivity." 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

ed  were  given,  for  they  promised  to  withdraw  their 
forces  from  the  territories  of  the  illustrious  King 
Alfred,  and  they  did  so.  After  ravaging  the  king- 
dom of  Mercia,  they  drove  out  all  the  freemen ;  and 

s  after  a  changeable  course  they  erected  their  huts  at 
the  town  of  Gloucester.  Therefore,  in  the  course 
of  this  year,  this  vile  rabble  broke  their  treaty  with 
the  West  Angles,  although  it  had  been  ratified  by 
a  firm  oath;  and  they  took  up  their  winter  quarters 

»o  at  Chippenham.  But  their  cavalry  rode  over  the 
necks  of  many  of  the  people,  so  that  the  inhabitants 
had  no  place  of  safety  from  their  tyranny,  and  all 
turned  their  minds  quickly  away  from  them.  Then, 
with  impious  insolence,  they  drove  many  across  the 

if  sea  to  the  shores  of  Gaul.  King  Alfred,  in  truth, 
was  at  this  time  more  straitened  than  became  him. 
^Ethelnoth  also,  duke  of  the  province  of  Somerset, 
delayed  with  a  small  band  in  a  certain  wood;  and 
they  built  a  stronghold  of  some  sort  on  the  isle  of 

30  Athelney,  which  is  situated  in  a  marsh,  as  may  be 
seen.  But  the  above-mentioned  king,  together  with 
the  whole  province  of  Somerset,  never  ceased  to 
engage  in  daily  contests  with  the  barbarians;  and 
no  others  assisted  him,  except  those  servants  who 

as  were  provisioned  at  the  king's  expense.  In  the  same 
year  Halfdene  arrived,  the  brother  of  the  tyrant 
Inwar,  with  thirty  galleys,  on  the  territories  of  the 
West  Angles,  and  besieged  Odda,  duke  of  the  prov- 
ince of  Devon,  in  a  certain  castle,  and  lighted  up  the 

26 


Alfred  and  the  Danes 

flames  of  war  within  and  without.  The  king  of  the 
barbarians  perished,  and  eight  hundred  men  with 
him.  The  Danes  at  last  obtained  the  victory.  Mean- 
while, after  Easter  in  that  year,  King  Alfred  hazarded 

s  a  battle  against  the  army  which  lay  at  Chippenham, 
at  a  place  called  Edington,  but  they  obtained  the 
honor  of  victory.  But  after  the  issue  of  the  engage- 
ment, the  barbarians  promised  peace,  begged  a 
truce,  did  not  refuse  hostages,  and  bound  themselves 

10  by  an  oath;  their  king  also  submitted  to  the  rite  of 
baptism,  and  King  Alfred,  as  sponsor,  received  him 
from  the  laver  in  the  marshy  isle  of  Alney.  Duke 
^Ethelnoth  likewise  purified  the  same  king  after  his 
baptism,  at  a  place  called  Wedmore,  and  there  King 

is  Alfred  loaded  him  with  magnificent  honors.  Then, 
after  a  year  from  the  period  when  the  pagan  army 
had  set  out  from  the  city  of  Gloucester,  it  reached 
the  town  of  Cirencester,  and  remained  there  during 
the  winter  season.  In  the  course  of  this  year  the 

20  sun  was  eclipsed.  In  the  year  following  this  solar 
eclipse,  the  aforesaid  army  left  Cirencester  for  the 
country  of  the  East  Angles ;  there  they  pitched  their 
camp  and  reduced  all  the  inhabitants  under  their 
yoke.  Fourteen  years  had  now  been  completed 

25  since  the  barbarians  had  first  wintered  in  the  afore- 
said fields  and  had  been  provided  with  horses. 
Moreover,  in  the  same  year,  after  all  the  aforesaid 
country  had  been  subjected  to  them,  they  set  sail 
for  Gaul  and  stationed  themselves  at  a  place  called 
3  27 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

Ghent,  being  the  very  same  troops  who  had  formerly 
pitched  their  camp  at  Fulham.  After  a  year  they 
attempted  to  proceed  farther;  but  the  armies  of  the 
Franks  assaulted  them  so  vigorously  that  they  gained 

s  the  victory,  while  the  barbarians  were  put  to  flight. 
After  the  lapse  of  a  year  the  above-mentioned  army 
passed  into  the  higher  districts  of  the  river  Meuse, 
and  established  their  camp  at  Ascloha.  In  the  same 
year  King  Alfred  put  out  to  sea  and  met  with  four 

10  of  their  ships;  two  of  them  he  overcame  and  de- 
stroyed, and  the  remaining  two  surrendered.  In  the 
following  year  the  above-named  army  set  out  for 
the  districts  above  the  Scheldt,  at  a  place  called 
Conde,  and  there  fixed  their  winter  quarters.  After 

is  the  expiration  of  a  single  year  a  violent  slaughter 
committed  by  the  aforesaid  army  broke  out  on  the 
higher  districts  of  the  Somme,  near  the  town  of 
Amiens,  and  there  they  pitched  their  camp  for  the 
winter.  Then,  after  a  year,  they  divided  themselves 

20  and  spread  over  the  country  in  two  parts,  the  one 
occupying  Louvain,  and  the  other  Rochester,  and 
they  besieged  both  these  towns.  They  also  con- 
structed for  themselves  other  smaller  camps.  The 
original  inhabitants  were  defeated,  till  Alfred  arrived 

as  with  his  western  band.  .  .  .  Some  of  them  retreated 
beyond  the  sea.  In  the  course  of  that  year  they 
renewed  their  treaty  by  giving  hostages  to  the  Angles, 
and  twice  in  the  year  they  divided  the  spoil  obtained 
by  fraud  in  the  densely  wooded  district  close  to  the 

28 


Alfred  and  the  Danes 

southern  borders  of  the  river  Thames.  The  filthy 
crew  which  then  held  within  its  power  the  East 
Angles  furnished  their  supplies,  and  then  they  sud- 
denly sought  an  outward  course  toward  Bamfleet. 

5  There  the  united  bands  divided  with  ill-omened 
movements :  some  remained,  and  some  departed  be- 
yond the  sea.  In  the  same  year,  therefore,  the  above- 
named  King  Alfred  sent  a  fleet  into  the  borders  of 
the  East  Angles;  and  immediately  on  their  arrival, 

10  sixteen  ships  met  them  at  Stourmouth;  these  were 
ravaged,  and  their  captains  slain  with  the  sword; 
then  the  rest  of  the  piratical  fleet  met  that  of  Alfred ; 
they  plied  their  oars,  they  removed  their  sails,  their 
arms  glittered  on  the  constrained  waves,  and  at 

is  length  the  barbarians  achieved  a  victory.  In  the 
same  year  died  Charles  the  Magnificent,  king  of  the 
Franks,  being  cut  off  by  death  before  the  comple- 
tion of  one  year;  after  him  followed  his  own  brother, 
who  then  ruled  over  the  western  coasts  of  Gaul. 

ao  Both  were  sons  of  Louis,  who  had  formerly  exercised 
the  sole  sovereignty;  the  close  of  his  life  took  place 
during  the  aforesaid  eclipse  of  the  sun,  and  he  was 
the  son  of  the  great  King  Charles,  whose  daughter 
Ethelwulf,  king  of  the  Angles,  had  married.  In  the 

as  progress  of  that  year,  an  assault  was  made  by  the 
barbarian  fleet,  with  no  small  force,  filling  the  shores 
of  the  Old  Saxons;  two  battles  were  fought  about  the 
same  time,  and  the  Saxons  were  victorious.  Fries- 
landers  also  were  present  at  the  engagement.  In 

29 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

the  same  year,  Charles  the  younger  succeeded  to 
the  sovereignty  of  all  the  western  parts  of  Gaul, 
extending  as  far  as  the  Tyrrhenian  Sea,  and,  if  I 
may  say  so,  to  all  the  dominions  of  his  great  grand- 
s  father,  except  the  province  of  America.  His  father 
was  Louis,  brother  of  the  middle  Charles,  whose 
daughter  Ethelwulf,  king  of  the  Angles,  had  mar- 
ried. And  these  two  were  sons  of  Louis,  and  he 
was  the  son  of  Charlemagne,  and  he  was  the  son  of 

10  Pepin.  In  the  same  year  the  blessed  Pope  Marinus 
departed,  who  gave  liberty  to  the  school  of  the 
Angles  which  now  exists  at  Rome  by  the  foresight 
of  King  Alfred,  and  he  sent  as  a  present  a  part  of  the 
thrice-blessed  cross  of  Christ,  in  whom  the  salva- 

15  tion  of  the  world  shines  forth.  In  the  course  of  the 
same  year,  the  aforesaid  pestilential  horde  broke 
their  agreement,  and  assailed  King  Alfred  with  their 
weapons.  Then,  after  a  year,  they  sought  the  lower 
parts  of  Gaul,  and  settled  themselves  permanently 

ao  near  the  river  Seine  for  the  winter.  Meanwhile  the 
city  of  London  was  fortified  by  King  Alfred — a  man 
whom  the  cruelty  of  civil  discord  could  never  sub- 
due by  either  ingenuity  or  assault;  all  men  hailed 
him  as  their  deliverer,  especially  the  Saxons,  with 

as  the  exception,  however,  of  the  barbarians,  and  those 
who  were  then  held  as  captives  under  their  power. 
Also,  after  his  armament  there  was  strengthened, 
Ethered  was  appointed  leader  by  the  aforesaid  king 
as  the  guardian  of  the  citadel. 

30 


Alfred  and  the  Danes 

4.  Alfred  and  Guthrum's  Peace.     (Anglo-Saxon  text 

in  Liebermann:  Die  Gesetze  der  Angelsachsen. 

Translation  from  Stubbs's  Select  Charters,  with 

one  change  suggested  by  Liebermann's  German 

s  translation.) 

This  is  the  peace  that  King  Alfred  and  King 
Guthrum,  and  the  witan  of  all  the  English  nation, 
and  all  the  people  that  are  in  East  Anglia,  have  all 
ordained  and  with  oaths  confirmed,  for  themselves 
10  and  for  their  descendants,  as  well  for  born  as  for 
unborn,  who  reck  of  God's  mercy  or  of  ours. 

1.  Concerning   our   land   boundaries:   Up  on  the 
Thames,  and  then  up  on  the  Lea,  and  along  the  Lea 
unto  its  source,  then  straight  to  Bedford,  then  up  on 

is  the  Ouse  unto  Watling  Street. 

2.  Then  is  this:    If  a  man  be  slain,  we  estimate 
all  equally  dear,   English  and  Danish,  at  viii  half 
marks  of  pure  gold;   except  the  ceorl  who  resides  on 
rented  land  and  their  [the  Danes']  freedmen;    they 

20  also  are  equally  dear,  either  at  cc.  shillings. 

3.  And   if  a  king's   thegn   be   accused   of   man- 
slaying,  if  he  dare  to  clear  himself  on  oath,  let  him 
do  that  with  xii  king's  thegns.    If  any  one  accuse 
that  man  who  is  of  less  degree  than  the  king's  thegn, 

25  let  him  clear  himself  with  xi  of  his  equals  and  with 
one  king's  thegn.  And  so  in  every  suit  which  may 
be  more  than  iv  mancuses.1  And  if  he  dare  not,  let 
Him  pay  for  it  threefold,  as  it  may  be  valued. 

1 A  money  of  account  of  this  time  representing  thirty  pence. 

31 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

4.  And  that  every  man  know  his  warrantor  in 
acquiring  slaves  and  horses  and  oxen. 

5.  And  we  all  ordained  on  that  day  that  the  oaths 
were  sworn,  that  neither  bond  nor  free  might  go  to 

s  the  host  without  leave,  no  more  than  any  of  them 
to  us.  But  if  it  happen  that  from  necessity  any  of 
them  will  have  traffic  with  us  or  we  with  them,  with 
cattle  and  with  goods,  that  is  to  be  allowed  in  this 
wise:  that  hostages  be  given  in  pledge  of  peace, 

10  and  as  evidence  whereby  it  may  be  known  that  the 
party  has  a  clean  back. 


PROBLEM   II 
II. — Origin  of  the  Jury 


Origin  of  the  Jury 


I.    THE    HISTORICAL   SETTING   OF    THE    PROBLEM 

IT  has  been  remarked  more  than  once  that  the  narrow 
strip  of  water  which  separates  England  from  the  Con- 
tinent, while  it  has  been  a  safeguard  against  sudden  in- 
vasion, has  been  no  barrier  to  institutions  and  ideas. 
Even  before  the  Norman  Conquest  much  that  was  Prank- 
ish and  ultimately  Roman  passed  into  England.  Besides 
Christianity  and  the  host  of  conceptions,  social  and  politi- 
cal as  well  as  religious,  which  it  bore,  there  were  such  well- 
known  importations  as  the  ideas  of  written,  central-made 
law,  of  a  king  who  was  more  than  a  war  chief,  of  central- 
ized government  in  general.  But  of  specific  political  prac- 
tices or  devices  the  importations  had  been  very  few.  These 
came  with  the  Norman  Conquest,  and  prominent  among 
them — prominent  at  the  time,  but  absolutely  pre-eminent 
if  what  was  to  grow  out  of  it  be  taken  into  consideration 
— was  the  sworn  inquest. 

Although  Normandy  was  a  new  state,  founded  in  911 
by  the  Scandinavian  conquerors  of  the  region,  it  had  by 
1066,  as  one  of  the  family  of  north  French  feudal  prin- 
cipalities, become  as  Prankish  as  any  and  a  distinct 
leader  among  them.  Even  its  third  duke,  Richard  the 
Fearless  (943-996),  has  become  known  as  the  last  of  the 
Scandinavian  and  the  first  of  the  French  dukes  of  Nor- 
mandy. Intermarriage  was  wiping  out  race  antagonism 

35 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

while  furnishing  a  very  virile  and  versatile  new  strain; 
and  that  selective  assimilation — the  Northmen's  chief 
glory — by  which  the  better  things  in  their  new  environ- 
ment were  taken  into  their  life  and  practice,  laid  the 
foundations  of  future  greatness.  Normandy  was  an  ideal 
transmitter  into  England  of  things  continental. 

It  may  be  stated  at  the  outset  that  the  development 
which  was  to  make  the  sworn  inquest  a  notable  thing  in 
the  world's  history  took  place  in  England  and  not  on  the 
Continent.  One  obvious  but  fundamental  reason  for  this 
needs  a  brief  discussion  before  the  sources  are  studied. 
The  sworn-inquest  seed  found  a  favorable  soil  in  England. 
It  was  sown  in  a  country  where  there  was  a  fairly  large 
class  of  men  which  was  at  the  same  time  responsible,  well- 
informed,  and  honest.  The  three  qualities  of  responsibility, 
informedness,  and  honesty  were  perhaps  as  frequent  in 
isolation  on  the  Continent  as  in  England.  Be  that  as  it 
may,  it  was  the  combination  which  was  needed.  A 
nobility,  while  certainly  responsible  and  sometimes  truth- 
telling,  would  not  have  a  wide  range  of  information  on 
local  affairs.  A  servile  peasantry,  while  as  honest  as  the 
nobles  and  well-informed  on  the  more  local  and  petty 
affairs,  would  lack  the  goods  and  chattels  on  the  basis  of 
which  a  man  could  be  conveniently  held  answerable  for 
perjury.  In  men  between  nobles  and  serfs,  the  three 
qualities  were  more  often  combined.  And  England,  in 
the  centuries  following  the  Norman  Conquest,  had  more 
such  men.  England  had  a  middle  class. 

This  is  not  the  place  for  a  discussion  of  English  classes 
or  an  explanation  of  their  origin,  but  a  few  leading  facts 
need  emphasis.  In  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries, 
the  critical  period  in  jury  development,  there  was  in  Eng- 
land a  substantial  body  of  men  above  the  villeins  and 
below  the  nobles.  These  non-noble  freemen  were  both 

36 


Origin  of  the  Jury 

urban  and  rural.  In  the  boroughs  they  constituted  the 
bulk  of  the  population,  and  held  their  real  estate  by  bur- 
gage  tenure.  Outside  the  boroughs,  they  were  on  the 
manors  throughout  England  (sometimes  themselves  lords 
of  manors),  not  nearly  so  numerous  as  the  villeins,  but 
always  an  important  element  in  the  population.  Their 
tenure  of  land  was  by  free  socage,  the  ancestor  of  the 
modern  fee  simple.  This  middle  class,  both  rural  and  ur- 
ban, had  important  public  duties  and  obligations.  The  ob- 
ligation of  the  citizen  to  the  state  had  been  largely  theirs. 
This  obligation  had  two  manifestations  which  ran  back 
to  time  immemorial.  There  was  the  duty  of  attending 
the  courts, — hundred  and  shire  courts  or  borough  courts. 
For  these  courts  were  assemblies  of  the  people  in  which 
there  were  presiding  officers,  but  no  judges  apart  from  the 
assembly  itself;  and  upon  the  assembly  rested  the  con- 
duct of  the  trial  and  the  finding  of  the  judgments.  The 
other  obligation  was  to  defend  the  state  in  the  citizen 
army  or  militia.  And  when,  in  the  eleventh  and  twelfth 
centuries,  the  Danegeld  became  a  true  tax,  and  when  at 
the  end  of  the  twelfth  and  in  the  thirteenth  century  the 
Danegeld  was  replaced  by  the  more  developed  carucage 
and  taxes  on  movables,  the  class  of  non-noble  freemen 
bore  an  important  share  of  the  burden.  It  was  a  class, 
then,  that  stood  face  to  face  with  the  state  and  did  not, 
like  the  villeins,  bear  its  burden  in  some  indirect  and  ser- 
vile way  through  landlords,  nor  did  it  escape  some  bur- 
dens and  become  charged  with  others  in  a  special  and 
personal  way  like  the  nobles. 

But  the  most  striking  fact  about  English  classes  in  the 
middle  ages  and  the  one  most  frequently  remarked  upon 
is  the  split  which  took  place  in  the  nobility.  The  lower 
nobles,  the  knights,  parted  company  in  most  respects 
with  the  greater  barons  and  approached  the  class  below. 

37 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

The  kings  were  so  strong  in  England  after  the  Conquest 
that  warfare  among  the  feudal  nobles  was  seldom  possible; 
also  the  whole  body  of  knights  was  less  and  less  frequently 
summoned  to  service  abroad.  Service  in  the  king's  court 
and  central  assemblies  was  not  enforced  upon  the  lesser 
tenants  -  in  -  chief ,  most  of  whom  were  knights.  The 
knights,  then,  were  not  doing  much  in  a  military  or  po- 
litical way  to  distinguish  them  from  the  class  of  free- 
holders. They  stayed  at  home,  ran  their  estates  profit- 
ably, intermarried  to  some  extent  with  the  freeholders, 
and  became  familiar  with  all  sorts  of  county  business. 
Judged  by  continental  standards,  they  were  leading  an 
unknightly  life.  When  matters  hardened  in  the  later 
middle  ages,  it  is  found  that  the  knights,  the  English 
gentry,  had  not  the  slightest  legal  or  political  right  to 
distinguish  them  from  the  non-noble  freemen.  The  dis- 
tinction was  social.  Thus  England's  middle  class  virtual- 
ly included  all  between  a  very  small  group  of  great  barons 
(later  the  peers  of  the  House  of  Lords)  and  the  villeins. 
It  was  in  this  great  group  that  men  available  for  sworn- 
inquest  purposes  were  oftenest  found.  And  the  govern- 
ment was  not  slow  to  learn  that  in  the  knights  respon- 
sibility, honesty,  and  information  were  oftenest  found 
together.1 

All  this  assumes  that  there  was  a  central  government 
strong  enough  to  use  the  middle  classes  for  its  own  pur- 
poses and  intelligent  enough  to  develop  this  use  in  an 
orderly  and  progressive  way.  The  big  part  played  by 
the  Conquest  itself  in  giving  the  central  government  a 
unique  opportunity  in  England  and  the  strength  and  in- 

1  Of  course  if  the  king  needed  information  which  could  best  be 
gotten  from  either  great  nobles  or  villeins,  he  was  as  ready  to  use 
the  sworn  inquest  with  them  as  with  the  middle  class;  but  for  the 
routine  kinds  of  local  business  knights  or  freeholders  served  best. 

38 


Origin  of  the  Jury 

telligence  of  the  post-Conquest  kings  need  little  insist- 
ence. Ninety-one  years  out  of  roughly  the  first  century 
and  a  quarter  after  1066,  England  was  ruled  by  a  William 
I.,  a  Henry  I.,  and  a  Henry  II. ;  and  the  centennial  year  of 
the  Conquest  brought  forth  the  Assize  of  Clarendon. 
Though  there  was  a  falling  off  in  the  quality  of  kings 
during  the  next  century,  enough  had  been  done.  A 
standard  had  been  set,  traditions  had  been  established, 
ministers  had  been  trained.  No  more  impressive  proof 
of  Henry  II.'s  greatness  can  be  desired  than  to  watch 
generation  after  generation  of  ministers  perpetuating  his 
ideals  and  methods  under  the  politically  incompetent  or 
abusive  Richard  I.,  John,  and  Henry  III.,  and  to  see  how 
his  great  ordinances  laid  the  foundation  of  the  courts 
and  the  common  law.  So,  if  the  English  middle  class  was 
a  good  tool,  there  was  a  firm,  clever  hand  to  use  it. 


II.    INTRODUCTIONS   TO   THE    SOURCES 

i.  The  Monastery  of  St.  Vincent  versus  Certain  Serfs  of 
the  Monastery. 

This  record  of  litigation  is  taken  from  the  Chronicon 
Vulturnense  or  Chronicle  of  Volturno.  This  work  was  com- 
piled late  in  the  eleventh  century,  at  the  famous  Italian 
monastery  of  St.  Vincent  in  the  province  of  Capua,  by 
John,  a  monk  of  that  house.  He  began  with  the  eighth 
century  and  brought  the  record  down  to  his  own  time.  In 
1108  he  presented  his  work  to  Pope  Paschal  II.  The 
Chronicle  is  for  the  most  part  a  collection  of  documents 
relating  to  the  monastery's  history,  and  in  so  far  is  of 
value;  but  its  slight  narrative  portion,  which  deals  mainly 
with  the  early,  mythical  period  of  the  house,  is  valueless. 
The  document  here  selected  is  from  the  ninth  century, 

39 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

and  is  the  record  of  a  very  significant  bit  of  litigation  to 
which  the  monastery  of  St.  Vincent  was  a  successful  party. 
It  is  not  hard  to  identify  the  several  Prankish  rulers  men- 
tioned, and  it  is  suggested  that  this  should  be  done  at  the 
outset  with  the  aid  of  a  genealogical  table.  It  is  inter- 
esting in  this  connection  to  notice  where  the  monastery 
of  St.  Vincent  was  located. 

2  and  4.  The  writs  relating  to  the  "  Abbot  of  St.  Augus- 
tine's Claim  to  a  Ship"  and  the  same  abbot's  "Claim  to 
Customs  at  Newington"  are  from  Thomas  of  Elmham's 
Historia  Monasierii  5.  Augnstini  Cantuariens-is  (History 
of  the  Monastery  of  St.  Augustine  of  Canterbury).  This 
compilation  was  made  in  1414,  the  author  being  a  monk 
of  St.  Augustine's.  "The  portion  of  the  work  actually 
completed  covers  the  years  597-806,  while  the  rest  of  the 
volume  is  made  up  of  rough  materials  for  the  projected 
continuation  of  the  history,  such  as  charters  and  bulls 
(many  of  them  spurious)  relating  to  the  abbey,  from  about 
1066  to  1191."  x  There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  writs  cited  in  connection  with  the  present 
problem. 

3.  The  "Title  of  the  Domesday  Inquest  for  Ely"  is  a 
typical  set  of  instructions  to  the  commissioners  employed 
on  the  great  Domesday  Survey.  The  originality  and  in- 
itiative of  the  Conqueror  in  undertaking  this  detailed  and 
unprecedented  census,  his  driving-power  in  carrying  it 
through  in  a  few  months,  and  the  resulting  mass  of  unique 
but  difficult  material  left  to  the  historian  are  the  phases 
of  the  survey  usually  commented  upon  at  length.  In  the 
present  connection  a  different  interest  is  uppermost — 
viz.,  the  method  employed  in  obtaining  the  data.  Not 
what  was  done,  but  exactly  how  it  was  done  must  be 
learned  here;  and  an  intensive  study  of  the  Ely  instruc- 

1  Gross,  Sources  and  Literature  of  English  History,  p.  184. 
40 


Origin  of  the  Jury 

tions  will  yield  all  the  necessary  information  on  this 
point. 

5.  The  record  of  the  litigation  of  the  "Monks  of  St. 
Stephen  versus  the  King's  Tenants"  was  first  printed, 
from  the  Chartulary  (record-book  of  the  property  of  a 
monastery)  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Stephen's  at  Caen 
in  Normandy,  in  Palgrave's  English  Commonwealth,  II, 
183.     The  manor  of  Bridton,  with  appurtenances,  had 
been  granted  to  the  abbey  by  William  the  Conqueror. 
Notice  the  make-up  and  location  of  the  court  which  finally 
determined  the  case;  also  by  what  authority  it  was  held 
and  who  presided  over  it. 

6.  This  "Writ  of  the  Earl  of  Essex  in  Favor  of  the 
Canons  of  St.  Martin"  was  printed  from  the  original  (pre- 
served in  the  Abbey  Church  at  Westminster)  by  Madox  in 
his  History  and  Antiquities  of  the  Exchequer  (quarto  edition) 
I,  1 08.     Madox  placed  it  "in  or  about  the  reign  of  King 
Henry  I.  or  Stephen."     Bigelow  remarks,  "If  this  was  the 
second  Geoffrey  earl  of  Essex,  as  appears  to  be  the  case, 
the  writ  was  of  the  reign  of  Stephen;  for  that  king  raised 
him   to   the   position."     This   was,  then,  doubtless,  the 
notorious  Geoffrey  de  Mandeville  whom  Round  (in  his 
Geoffrey  de  Mandeville:  A  Study  of  the  Anarchy)  calls  "the 
most  perfect  and  typical  presentment  of  the  feudal  and 
anarchic  spirit  that  stamps  the  reign  of  Stephen."     In  the 
present  case  Earl  Geoffrey  is  seen  in  a  moment  of  penitence 
superinduced  by  illness;    yet  this  very  writ  bears  some 
evidence  of  his  lofty  pretensions. 

7.  The  Constitutions  of  Clarendon,  too  well-known  a 
document  to  need  much  introduction,  was  a  product  of 
the  famous  controversy  between  Henry  II.  and  Arch- 
bishop Thomas.     The  king  believed  the  points  at  issue 
should  be  settled  by  an  appeal  to  precedent.     The  time 
of  his  grandfather,  before  the  anarchic  days  of  Stephen 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

when  the  church,  like  every  other  element,  had  gained  so 
many  privileges  at  the  crown's  expense,  was  to  him  the 
normal  and  just  period;  and  the  men  who  were  questioned 
on  the  former  relations  of  church  and  state  must  be  old 
enough  to  remember  well  the  days  of  Henry  I.  That  the 
Constitutions  of  Clarendon  were  based  on  information 
gained  by  an  inquest  can  be  clearly  seen  by  an  analysis 
of  the  preamble.  The  articles,  of  course,  cover  the  vital 
points  in  the  great  controversy;  but  besides  these  Henry 
seems  to  have  taken  the  opportunity  to  clear  up  several 
related  matters  of  doubt  and  difficulty  between  church 
and  state,  and  in  one  or  two  instances  there  is  outright 
innovation  instead  of  the  statement  of  old  custom.  The 
document  relates  largely  to  judicial  matters,  as  was  bound 
to  be  the  case  in  view  of  its  occasion. 

8.  The  Assize  of  Clarendon  was  a  set  of  instructions 
or  the  commission  given  to  the  itinerant  justices  about 
to  go  on  circuit.  But  while  this  was  its  formal  and  im- 
mediate character,  it  turned  out  to  be  constructive  legis- 
lation on  a  lofty  scale — the  supreme  example,  perhaps,  of 
the  informal  and  unconscious  legislation  of  that  great 
reign  when  the  corner-stone  of  the  common  law  was  laid. 

...  a  few  written  or  even  spoken  words  communicated  to  his 
[Henry  II. }s]  justices,  whom  he  was  constantly  sending  to  peram- 
bulate the  country,  might  do  great  things,  might  institute  new 
methods  of  procedure,  might  bring  new  classes  of  men  and 
things  within  the  cognizance  of  the  royal  court.  Some  of  his 
ordinances — or  "Assizes,"  as  they  were  called — have  come 
down  to  us;  others  we  have  lost.  No  one  was  at  any  great 
pains  to  preserve  their  text,  because  they  were  regarded,  not  as 
new  laws,  but  as  mere  temporary  instructions  which  might  be 
easily  altered.  They  soon  sink  into  the  mass  of  unenacted 
common  law.  * 

1  Maitland,  in  Traill's  Social  England,  II,  408. 
42 


Origin  of  the  Jury 

It  is  a  most  curious  fact  that  only  the  few  specialists  in 
this  field  knew  of  the  Assize  of  Clarendon  or  several  other 
documents  of  the  time  not  much  below  it  in  importance 
until,  about  1870,  these  documents  were  first  taught  to 
undergraduates  at  Oxford  out  of  Stubbs's  Select  Charters, 
that  revered  and  noble  ancestor  of  source  books. 

9.  The  Assize  of  Northampton  was  a  revision  of  the 
Assize  of  Clarendon  made  just  ten  years  later.    Again 
itinerant  justices  were  to  be  sent  through  the  country 
and  for  much  the  same  business.     The  second  document 
shows  that  the  methods  of  dealing  with  criminals  which 
Henry  had  made  a  part  of  his  court  procedure  by  the 
Assize  of  Clarendon  had  succeeded.     It  is  interesting  to 
compare  the  documents  and  see  the  changes  in  detail 
which  a  decade  of  experience  had  suggested.     It  is  an 
inspiration  to  watch  the  first  steps  in  this  great  experi- 
ment which  was  to  revolutionize  criminal  procedure  and 
which,  with  all  its  early  crudities  and  barbarous  accom- 
paniments, was  one  of  the  long  steps  forward  in  govern- 
ment and  civilization.     In  the  sphere  of  civil  pleas,  the 
Assize  of  Northampton  has  something  new  to  show  us. 

10.  Tractatus    de    Le gibus    et    Consuetudinibus    Regni 
Anglia.     [Ascribed  to  Ranulf  de  Glanville.] 

"Glanville  aided  Henry  II.  in  his  military  operations 
against  the  Scots  and  the  Welsh,  and  was  chief  justiciar 
of  England  from  1180-1189.  The  Tractatus  de  Legibus 
is  usually  ascribed  to  him,  but  there  is  no  good  evidence 
to  show  that  he  wrote  it.  It  may  have  been  written  by 
his  nephew,  Hubert  Walter.  The  work  was  compiled 
near  the  end  of  Henry  II. 's  reign,  1187-89.  It  is  the  old. 
est  of  the  legal  classics  of  England,  and  marks  a  distinct 
advance  over  the  unsystematic  law-books  of  Henry  I.'s 
time.  'With  the  exception  of  the  Decretum,  it  was  the 
earliest  systematic  treatise  that  appeared  after  the  dis- 
4  43 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

solution  of  the  Roman  Empire.'  The  author's  primary 
object  is  to  describe  the  procedure  of  the  king's  court, 
but  he  also  throws  much  light  upon  other  legal  institu- 
tions. 'Glanville,  who  led  the  way,'  says  Reeves,  'is  still 
entitled  to  the  veneration  always  due  to  those  who  open 
the  paths  to  science.'  His  work  helped  to  make  law  and 
practice  more  uniform  throughout  England  along  the  lines 
marked  out  by  Henry  II." 

ii.  These  "Typical  Civil  Pleas"  are  records  of  civil 
suits  taken  from  the  so-called  Plea  Rolls  of  the  king's 
court.  It  is  believed  that  it  was  in  the  reign  of  Henry  II. 
— the  reign  pre-eminent  for  great  beginnings  in  law  and 
procedure — that  the  first  written  records  were  kept  of 
cases  heard  in  the  king's  court;  but  none  of  these  has  come 
down  to  us.  However,  many  Plea  Rolls  are  extant  for 
Richard  !.'•  reign,  and  very  many  more  for  the  reign  of 
John  and  the  reigns  following.  "When  once  the  stream 
of  Plea  Rolls  begins  to  flow,  it  flows  abundantly,"  says 
Maitland.  "If  the  judicial  records  of  the  thirteenth 
century  were  printed  in  a  hundred  volumes,  those  vol- 
umes would  be  stout."  And  at  that  we  have  but  a  frac- 
tion of  the  rolls  originally  made.  Records  were  kept  of 
the  cases  tried  before  the  central  court  of  the  king  and 
also  of  those  tried  in  the  localities  before  the  king's  court 
of  the  itinerant  justices.  The  first  three  cases  here  cited 
were  tried  at  the  center,  brought  up,  it  will  be  observed, 
from  Surrey,  Northampton,  and  Kent;  the  two  follow- 
ing were  from  the  Cornish  eyre;  and  the  last  three  from 
the  Lincolnshire  eyre.  The  actions  here  illustrated  (the 
grand  assize  and  the  three  possessory  assizes)  are  those 
in  connection  with  which,  back  in  the  reign  of  Henry  II., 
the  jury  was  first  made  a  regular  part  of  the  procedure  in 
civil  suits.  By  the  first  part  of  John's  reign  these  assizes 
1  Gross,  Sources  and  Literature,  pp.  315-316. 
44 


Origin  of  the  Jury 

had  become  very  numerous,  and  were  working  powerfully 
to  spread  jury  trial  into  all  the  more  important  civil 
actions.  Of  the  cases  here  shown,  a  and  /  are  the  grand 
assize;  d  and  h  the  novel  disseisin;  c,  e,  and  g  the  mart 
d1  ancestor;  b  the  darrein  presentment.  The  essential  fea- 
tures of  these  actions  should  be  studied  in  this  connection 
from  some  manual  of  English  constitutional  history. 

12.  The  "Typical  Pleas  of  the  Crown"  are  records  of 
criminal  cases  taken  from  the  same  kind  of  Plea  Rolls 
just  described.     Those  printed  here   were   all  brought 
before  itinerant  justices  early  in  the  reign  of  John,  and 
the  circuit,  or  eyre,  is  indicated  in  each  case.    The  number 
of    "crown    pleas" — that    is,    important    criminal    cases 
brought  before  the  king's  court — was  small  in  comparison 
with  the  civil  pleas;   hence  it  is  much  harder  to  deduce 
what  might  be  regarded  as  the  normal  procedure  of  any 
given  time.     It  is  evident  that  all  criminal  procedure  was 
distinctly  ineffectual.     Convictions  were  rare. 

13.  These  last  "Typical  Pleas  of  the  Crown"  belong 
to  the  next  reign  and  are  all  from  the  Gloucestershire  eyre. 
In  the  interval  between  these  and  the  previous  group  a 
very  important  event  in  the  history  of  criminal  procedure 
had  occurred.     Under  the  influence  of  the  great  Pope 
Innocent  III.,  the  Fourth  Latern  Council,  which  met  in 
1215,  passed  a  decree  forbidding  the  clergy  to  participate 
in  the  ceremonies  attendant  upon  any  of  the  ordeals.     As 
all  the  ordeals  except  trial  by  battle  were  managed  by  the 
clergy,  this  meant  abolishing  all  but  this  one  ordeal  in  those 
countries  in  which  the  decree  was  obeyed.     It  is  not  hard 
to  account  for  the  ready  obedience  of  England  at  this  time. 

III.    QUESTIONS   AND   SUGGESTIONS   FOR   STUDY 

i.  What  was  the  principal  method  used  to  obtain  the  facts 
in  the  trial  recorded  in  document  i?    Give  an  account 
45 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

of  this  method,  making  it  as  clear  and  detailed  as  the 
document  allows.  By  whose  authority  was  it  used? 
What  was  it  called?  Who  rendered  the  judgment  in 
the  case?  On  what  was  the  judgment  founded? 

2.  What  features  of  this  method  of  getting  information  are  to 

be  found  in  the  documents  from  the  reigns  of  William 
I.  to  Stephen  (incl.)?  What  different  features  do  you 
note?  Are  there  any  which  seem  stable  or  nearly  so 
throughout?  Would  you  regard  the  method  illustrated 
in  these  English  documents  substantially  the  same  as 
that  in  the  Prankish? 

3.  As  far  as  these  documents  show,  was  the  sworn  inquest 

generally  used  in  connection  with  a  trial  in  court? 
(Examine  also  the  early  documents  in  Problem  III.) 

4.  Enumerate  the  classes  of  men  that  were  used  on  sworn  in- 

quests in  the  English  cases  down  to  Henry  II. 

5.  In  which  of  the  instances  here  shown  was  the  sworn  inquest 

used  on  the  most  extensive  scale? 

6.  Find  a  case  in  which  the  inquest  seems  to  have  been  used 

on  some  other  authority  than  the  king's.  Can  you 
account  for  this? 

7.  Enumerate  carefully  the  different  uses  of  the  inquest  in 

Henry  II. 's  reign.  (See  also  documents  from  this  reign 
in  Problem  III.)  About  which  of  these  does  there  seem 
to  be  anything  distinctly  new?  Do  any  of  them  seem 
at  all  like  modern  juries? 

8.  In  what  civil  suits  were  juries  used  in  Henry  II. 's  reign? 

9.  Name  the  common  civil  suits  in  which  there  was  jury 

trial  early  in  John's  reign.  Of  which  of  these  do  you 
find  traces  in  Henry  II. 's  reign? 

10.  Find  proof  in  Magna  Carta  (see  Appendix,  pp.  ooo-ooo)  that 

some  of  these  civil  actions  were  very  popular.  Have 
you  any  means  of  knowing  whether  jury  trial  popu- 
larized them  or  whether  they  popularized  jury  trial? 

11.  Did  these  juries  make  their  statements  as  units  or  were 

their  members  questioned  individually? 

12.  What  was  the  relation  of  the  jury's  statement  to  the  judg- 

ment in  these  cases? 

46 


Origin  of  the  Jury 

13.  Was  the  jury's  statement  ever  called  in  question? 

14.  Would  it  be  correct  to  call  these  jury  statements  verdicts? 

15.  Does  there  seem  to  have  been  one  or  more  than  one  method 

of  selecting  juries? 

16.  In  which  documents  of  Henry  II. 's  reign  are  to  be  found 

juries  which  presented  suspected  criminals  for  trial? 
What  classes  of  criminals?  Was  there  any  change  in 
this  last  respect  during  the  reign? 

17.  Which  document  seems  to  have  established  a  presenting 

jury  as  a  regular  part  of  the  king's  court  procedure? 

18.  What  men  served  on  the  presenting  juries?    Was  there  any 

change  in  this  respect  during  Henry  II. 's  reign? 

19.  What  modern  form  of  jury  is  essentially  the  same  as  this 

presenting  jury? 

20.  In  connection  with  the  earliest  instances  of  the  presenting 

jury  here  shown,  is  there  any  hint  of  the  king's  reason 
for  adopting  it? 

21.  Did  juries  present  those  who  had  been  previously  accused 

by  the  injured  parties?  Did  they  present  people  who 
had  never  been  accused? 

22.  What  evidence  is  there  to  show  whether  or  not  all  trials  for 

the  most  serious  crimes  were  now  begun  by  a  jury 
indictment? 

23.  How  were  the  people  thus  presented  tried  in  Henry  II. 's  or 

John's  reign?  What  document  prescribed  this  pre- 
vailing method?  Do  you  know  whether  or  not  other 
forms  of  trial  were  used  for  such  cases  in  times  past? 

24.  What  evidence  is  there  that  Henry  II.  was  dissatisfied  with 

the  way  in  which  criminals  were  tried?  Is  there  any 
indication  of  the  method  he  would  have  liked  to  sub- 
stitute? 

25.  How  were  criminals  tried  in  Henry  III.'s  reign?    How  do 

you  account  for  the  change? 

26.  What  happened  if  a  man  refused  to  allow  his  guilt  or  inno- 

cence to  be  determined  in  this  way?    Can  you  suggest 
why  he  was  allowed  any  option  in  the  matter? 
r*>.  What  evidence  is  there  of  two  distinct  juries  in  these  later 
cases? 


IV.    The  Sources 

i.  The   Monastery    of  St.    Vincent    versus    Certain 
Serfs   of  the  Monastery.     854.  (Latin   text   in 
Muratori,  Rerum  Italicarum  Scriptores,  Vol.  I, 
pt.  2,  pp.  398-9.     Translation  by  the  editor.) 
s      In  the  name  of  Christ  the  Omnipotent.     By  order 
of  the  most  pious  lord  Lewis  Augustus,  son  of  the 
Emperor  Lothair,  and  also  of  our  lord  Duke  Guy, 
we  Franfid  the  Prefect  sat  in  judgment  in  the  vill 
Trita,  which  was  formerly  under  the  Prefect  Audoen, 
10  in  the  cause  of  the  serfs  of  the  vill  Offen  of  the  Tritan 
valley  in  the  Balvensian  district,  whom  the  Cell 
Trita  of  the  Monastery  of  St.  Vincent  sought  to 
reclaim  as  serfs;    and  these  were  present  with  us. 
[Here  follow   thirteen   names.]     So  coming  into  the 
is  presence  of  us  the  above-named  judge,   Gunipert 
reeve  of  the  Cell  Trita  of  the  Monastery  of  St.  Vin- 
cent, together  with  the  clerk  Adelpert  his  advocate, 
laid  claim  before  us  to  the  men  of  the  vill  Offen 
[here  are  inserted  the  names  of  nine  men],  saying  that 
»o  although  these  men  had  always  been  serfs  of  St. 
Vincent,  they  had  now  for  cause  unknown  withdrawn 
themselves  from  that  service.     But  on  their  part 

48 


Origin  of  the  Jury 

the  said  men  made  answer:  "It  is  not  true  that 
either  we  or  our  fathers  have  been  serfs  of  St.  Vin- 
cent as  Gunipert  the  reeve  and  Adelpert  claim,  be- 
cause both  we  and  our  fathers  have  always  been  free 
s  men ;  for  the  sake  of  protection  we  commended  our-  / 
selves  to  that  monastery  as  free  men,  not  as  serfs." 
To  these  statements  Gunipert  the  reeve  with  Adel- 
pert his  advocate  replied :  Indeed  we  have  the 
written  authorization  which  Lewis  the  prior  had  from 

10  the  grandfather  of  our  most  pious  lord  Lewis  Augus- 
tus, and  also  another  order  by  which  this  Lewis, 
son  of  the  lord  Emperor  Lothair,  has  confirmed  the 
grant  made  by  his  grandfather  to  this  monastery' 
and  in  order  that  the  monastic  side  may  at  least 

is  have  the  benefit  of  witnesses,  an  inquisition  ought 
to  be  held  on  this  case  as  by  royal  authority.  There- 
fore, if  it  please  you,  make  an  inquisition  on 
this  matter,  as  the  lord  Emperor  commands 
and  authorizes,  to  determine  whether  these  men 

*>  were  free  men  in  that  monastery  or  serfs."  Then 
we  Franfid  the  Prefect,  together  with  the  above- 
named  judges,  saw  this  cause  of  disagreement  be- 
tween the  parties,  for  these  men  of  the  vill  Offen 
declared  that  they  were  free  men  and  had  become 

as  connected  with  that  monastery  for  protection  only 
and  not  as  serfs;  therefore  we  summoned  from  neigh- 
boring parts  of  the  Tritan  valley  and  Carapella  and 
also  from  several  other  vills  good  and  true  men  who 
were  well  acquainted  with  this  case  and  knew  the 

49 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

men.  And  we  made  them  take  oath  on  the  holy 
Gospels  of  God  that  they  would  tell  us  the  absolute 
truth  of  whatever  they  knew  about  these  men  of 
Offen,  their  freedom  or  their  serfdom.  [Here  follow 
s  the  names  of  the  eighteen  who  took  oath.}  And  after 
the  oath  was  taken  we  each  one  of  us  carefully  ques- 
tioned them  individually.  Their  statements  to  us 
were  of  one  tenor:  "As  far  back  as  our  memories 
serve  we  know  how  this  Ursepert,  himself  a  serf, 
10  has  been  reeve  over  the  other  serfs  of  St.  Vincent  of 
Offen,  likewise  also  all  his  connections  have  as  serfs 
suffered  the  same  limitations;  moreover  the  reeves 
who  have  been  in  this  Cell  we  have  always  seen 
treated  as  serfs  until  now.  And  if  the  aforesaid 
is  men  or  those  related  to  them  committed  any  crime 
they  were  put  in  chains  and  treated  as  serfs,  and 
we  have  seen  nothing  of  their  freedom  hitherto." 
Moreover,  we  questioned  Ansfrid,  who  was  formerly 
prefect,  also  Gifo  and  Alaisi  the  echevins,  by  that 
20  oath  or  fidelity  which  they  had  rendered  to  the  lord 
Emperor  that  they  would  state  truly  before  us  what- 
ever they  knew  of  the  said  serfs  or  their  connec- 
tions. These  made  one  reply  to  us :  "By  that  oath 
or  fidelity  which  we  have  rendered  to  the  lord  E  ni- 
ts peror,  as  far  as  our  memory  serves,  we  have  seen 
this  Ursepert,  John,  Johannaci,  etc.  always,  both 
them  and  theirs,  serfs  of  St.  Vincent;  and  all  those 
things  are  true  which  the  aforementioned  men  have 
sworn."  And  when  we  Franfid  the  Prefect  and  the 

So 


Origin  of  the  Jury 

said  judges  had,  through  these  documents  and  in- 
quisitions, found  all  things  thus,  we  respited  the  case 
until  our  lord  Duke  Guy  again  commanded  that  as 
by  order  and  authority  of  lord  Lewis  the  Emperor, 
s  as  also  by  his  own  order  and  command,  I  Franfid 
the  Prefect  should  conclude  this  case  between  these 
monks  and  these  men  of  the  vill  Offen  on  the  basis 
of  the  inquisition  which  was  held  before  us,  and 
that  the  monks  should  return  the  said  men  and  their 
10  connections  to  their  service  as  serfs.  And  so  it  was 
done.  Hence,  for  the  security  of  said  monastery, 
we  Franfid  the  Prefect  and  the  said  judges  have 
bidden  Fraupert  the  notary  to  record  the  present 
judgment  together  with  all  that  has  been  done  and 
is  considered  throughout  the  litigation.  And  it  was 
done  in  the  thirty-second  year  of  the  reign  of  our 
lord  the  Emperor  Lothair  and  the  fifth  of  his  most 
pious  son  Lewis  Augustus,  in  the  month  of  February, 
the  second  Indiction.  Witnesses: 
20  I  Franfid  the  Prefect  was  there 

I  Gifo  was  there 
I  Senoald  was  there 
I  Alagisi  was  there 
I  Adelpert  was  there 
as  I  John  was  there,  etc. 

2.  Abbot  of  St.  Augustine's  Claim  to  a  Ship.     (Reign 
of  William  I.      Latin  text,  Bigelow,  Placita,  p. 
33.     Translation  by  the  editor.) 
William  son  of  the  king  to  William  sheriff  of  Kent, 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

greeting.  I  command  that  you  order  Hamo,  son 
of  Vitalis,  and  the  good  neighbors  of  Sandwich, 
whom  Hamo  has  named,  that  they  tell  the  truth 
about  the  ship  of  the  abbot  of  St.  Augustine;  and 

3  if  that  ship  traversed  the  sea  on  the  day  when  the 
king  last  crossed  the  sea,  then  I  command  that  it 
now  remain  afloat  until  the  king  shall  come  into 
England,  and  in  the  mean  time  let  the  said  abbot 
be  again  in  possession  of  it.  Witness  the  bishop  of 

10  Salisbury  and  the  chancellor,  at  Woodstock. 
[Writ  of  execution  of  above  on  judgment.] 

William  son  of  the  king  to  William  sheriff  of 
Kent,  greeting.  I  command  that  you  put  the  ab- 
bot of  St.  Augustine  again  in  possession  of  his  ship, 

is  as  I  commanded  you  by  my  other  writ,  and  as  it 
was  declared  by  good  men  of  the  county  that  the 
abbot  was  in  possession  of  it  on  the  day  when  the 
king  last  crossed  the  sea;  and  let  him  hold  it  in 
peace.  Witness  the  chancellor,  at  Windsor.  And 

30  this  without  delay,  lest  I  hear  further  complaint 
about  it.  Witness  the  same. 

3.  Titk  of  the  Domesday  Inquest  for  Ely.  1086. 
(Latin  text,  Stubbs,  Select  Charters,  ninth  edi- 
tion, p.  101.  Translation  by  the  editor.) 

as  Here  is  written  below  the  inquisition  of  lands  how 
the  barons  of  the  king  make  inquiry,  namely,  on  the 
oath  of  the  sheriff  of  the  shire  and  of  all  the  barons 
and  their  Frenchmen. and  of  the  whole  hundred,  of 
the  priest,  of  th'e  reeve,  of  six  villeins  of  each  vill. 

52 


Origin  of  the  Jury 

Then  how  the  manor  is  called;  who  held  it  in  the 
time  of  King  Edward ;  who  holds  it  now ;  how  many 
hides ;  how  many  ploughs  in  demense  and  how  many 
of  the  men;  how  many  villeins;  how  many  cotars; 
s  how  many  seri^;  how  many  freemen;  how  many 
sokemen;  how  much  forest;  how  much  meadow; 
how  much  pasture;  how  many  mills;  how  many 
fish-ponds;  how  much  has  been  added  to  it  or 
taken  from  it;  how  much  it  used  to  be  worth  alto- 
10  gether;  and  how  much  now;  how  much  each  free- 
man or  sokeman  had  there,  or  has.  All  this  thrice; 
that  is  to  say,  in  the  time  of  King  Edward,  and  when 
King  William  gave  it,  and  how  it  is  now ;  and  whether 
more  can  be  had  than  is  had. 

is  4.  Claim  of  Abbot  of  St.  Augustine  to  Customs  at 
Newington.     1094.     (Latin  text,  Bigelow,  Pla- 
cita,  p.  66.     Translation  by  the  editor.) 
William  son  of  King  William  to  the  sheriff  of 
Kent,  greeting.     Cause  to  be  declared  by  the  men 
20  of  the  hundred  of  Middleton  what  customs  the  abbot 
of  St.  Augustine  ought  to  have  in  the  vill  of  Newing- 
ton, and  what  he  formerly  had.     And  make  him  to 
have  such  without  delay,  and  particularly  concern- 
ing that  aid  as  he  formerly  had  it.     Witness  the  bish- 
as  op  of  Salisbury,  at  Westminster. 

5.  Monks  of  St.  Stephen  versus  the  King's  Tenants. 
1122.     (Latin  text,  Bigelow,  Placita,  pp.  120- 
121.     Translation  by  the  editor.) 
In  the  year  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  twenty- 

53 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

two  from  the  incarnation  of  our  Lord.  Henry  king 
of  the  English  commanded  that  the  complaint  of  the 
monks  of  St.  Stephen  of  Caen,  which  they  were  mak- 
ing about  the  land  which  pertains  to  Bridton  which 
s  the  king's  men  of  Bridport  seized  and  have  long  held 
in  possession  by  the  help  of  the  king's  ministers,  be 
considered  under  examination  of  judges;  so  that 
indeed  an  end  of  the  whole  question  be  reached 
through  a  statement  of  the  men  of  the  four  quarters 
10  of  the  neighborhood  of  that  vill.  Which  often  post- 
poned, the  king's  command  at  length  insisted  should 
be  done.  A  day,  therefore,  having  been  set,  the 
claim  of  the  monks  was  heard  before  seven  hundreds 
which  convened  upon  that  same  land,  from  neigh- 
is  boring  and  distant  vills,  Warine  the  sheriff  of  Dorset 
and  Somerset  being  present,  upon  whom  the  con- 
duct of  this  case  was  specially  enjoined;  and  the 
oath  was  taken  according  to  the  king's  decree.  For 
sixteen  men,  three  namely  of  Bridport  and  three  of 
«o  Bridton  and  ten  from  neighboring  places,  swore  that 
they  would  make  a  true  statement  in  the  inquisition 
concerning  that  land.  The  inquisition  having  been 
made  as  to  whose  it  more  justly  was,  these  men  af- 
firmed on  the  faith  of  their  oath  that  the  said  land  of 
§s  old  pertained  to  Bridton.  And  whosesoever  Bridton 
was,  his  that  land  ought  to  be.  All  acquiescing  in 
their  assertion,  by  God's  grace  and  the  merit  of  St. 
Stephen,  their  rights  were  adjudged  to  the  demand- 
ants, and  that  the  land  should  be  restored  to  Brid- 

54 


Origin  of  the  Jury 

ton,  and  therefore  handed  over  to  the  monks.     And 

so  it  was  done  on  that  same  day The  names 

of  those  who  swore  are  these 

6.  Writ  of  the  Earl  of  Essex  in  favor  of  the  Canons  of 
i  St.  Martin.     (Reign  of  Stephen.     Latin  text, 

Bigelow,  Placita,  p.  160.     Translation  by  the 
editor.) 

Geoffrey  Earl  of  Essex  to  Aelard  de  Werris,  greet- 
ing.    I  command  you  that,  setting  aside  every  ex- 

•o  cuse  and  delay,  and  as  you  love  my  body  and  soul, 
you  restore  to  the  canons  of  St.  Martin  of  London  all 
their  grain  of  Godchester,  and  all  their  goods  which 
my  men  have  taken  thence;  and  let  all  their  men 
and  goods  have  my  firm  peace  henceforth;  because 

«s  on  account  of  my  illness  and  for  the  salvation  of  my 
soul,  I  have  promised  to  satisfy  those  canons  and 
all  the  churches  of  God.  And  let  it  be  declared  by 
the  neighborhood  and  by  good  men  of  that  district 
whether  five  acres  of  land,  which  Walter  Long  holds 

ao  and  of  which  he  dispossessed  them  and  which  those 
canons  claim,  be  of  their  tenure;  and  if  it  shall  be 
so  declared,  cause  them  to  be  put  in  possession,  and 
let  them  hold  the  land  well  and  in  peace. 

7.  Constitutions  of  Clarendon.     1164.     (Latin   text, 
as  Stubbs,  Select  Charters,  ninth  edition,  pp.  163- 

167.     Translation  by  the  editor.) 
[See  Appendix,  pp.  370-37^,  for  the  entire  docu- 
ment.    In   connection   with   the   present   problem, 
study  especially  articles  6  and  9.] 

55 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

1   8.  The   Assize   of  Clarendon.     1166.     (Latin    text, 
Stubbs,  Select  Charters,  ninth  edition,  pp.  170- 
173.     Translation  by  the  editor.) 
[See  Appendix,  pp.  375-380,  for  the  entire  docu- 
s  ment.     In   connection   with   the   present  problem, 
study  especially  articles  i,  2,  5,  8,  14,  and  22.] 
9.  Articles  from  the  Assize  of  Northampton.     1176. 
(Latin  text,  Stubbs,  Select  Charters,  ninth  edi- 
tion, pp.  179-181.     Translation  by  the  editor.) 
10      i.  If  any  one  shall  be  charged  before  the  justices 
of  the  lord  king  with  murder  or  theft  or  robbery,  or 
with  the  reception  of  men  doing  such  things,  or  with 
falsifying  *  or  arson,  by  the  oath  of  twelve  knights 
of  the  hundred,  and  if  knights  are  not  present,  by 
is  the  oath  of  twelve  free,  legal 2  men,  and  by  the  oath 
of  four  men  of  each  vill  of  the  hundred,  let  him  go 
to  the  judgment  of  water,  and  if  he  fail  let  him  lose 
one  foot.     And  at  Northampton  it  was  added  for 
rigor  of  justice  that  likewise  he  lose  his  right  hand 
ao  with  his  foot,  and  that  he  abjure  the  kingdom,  and 
that  he  leave  the  kingdom  within  forty  days.     And 

1  Probably  the  generate  crimen  falsi  referred  to  by  Glanville,  Bk. 
xiv,  ch.  7,  where  it  is  taken  up  in  connection  with  the  other  crimes 
mentioned  in  the  present  category.  Glanville  says  that  this  general 

25  crime  of  falsifying  has  several  specific  forms,  as  falsifying  charters, 
measures,  money,  etc.  Ducange  limits  the  falsoneria  of  the  Assize 
of  Northampton  to  counterfeiting  money  and  cites  the  present  pas- 
sage in  illustration,  while  Maitland  (History  of  English  Law,  I,  152) 
translates  it  "forgery." 

30  *  The  word  translated  "legal"  or  "lawful"  in  this  and  similar 
connections  indicates  men  whose  oaths  were  presumably  good;  that 
is,  men  who  had  never  been  found  perjurers. 

56 


Origin  of  the  Jury 

if  he  has  been  cleared  at  the  water,  let  him  find 
pledges  and  remain  in  the  kingdom,  unless  he  has 
been  charged  with  murder  or  other  heinous  crime 
by  the  community  of  the  county  and  of  the  legal 

s  knights  of  the  locality,  with  which,  if  he  has  been 
charged  in  the  aforesaid  way,  although  he  has 
been  safe  at  the  water,  nevertheless  within  forty 
days  let  him  leave  the  kingdom,  and  let  him  take 
his  chattels  with  him,  saving  the  right  of  his 

10  lords,  and  let  him  abjure  the  kingdom  at  the 
mercy  of  the  lord  king. 


4.  Also  if  any  freeholder  dies  let  his  heirs  remain 
in  such  seisin  as  their  father  had  of  his  fief  on  the 
day  of  his  death;  and  let  them  have  his  chattels, 

is  whence  they  may  satisfy  the  will  of  the  deceased; 
and  afterward  let  them  seek  their  lord  and  from  their 
fief  let  them  pay  him  relief  and  do  the  other  things 
which  they  ought  to  do  for  him.  And  if  there  be 
an  heir  under  age,  let  the  lord  of  the  fief  receive  his 

20  homage  and  have  him  in  wardship  as  long  as  he 
should.  And  let  the  other  lords,  if  there  be  several, 
receive  his  homage,  and  let  him  do  for  them  what  he 
ought  to  do.  And  let  the  wife  of  the  deceased  have 
her  dowry  and  the  portion  of  his  chattels  which  per- 

25  tains  to  her.  And  if  the  lord  of  the  fief  refuse  the 
deceased's  heirs  the  seisin  of  the  said  deceased 
which  they  ask,  let  the  justices  of  the  lord  king  cause 

57 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

a  recognition  to  be  made  by  twelve  legal  men  as  to 
what  seisin  the  deceased  had  of  it  on  the  day  of  his 
death;  and  according  to  the  recognition,  let  them 
make  restitution  to  the  heirs.  And  if  any  one  do 

s  contrary  to  this  and  be  convicted  of  it,  let  him  re- 
main at  the  king's  mercy. 

5.  And  the  justices  of  the  lord  king  shall  cause 
inquest  to  be  made  concerning  disseisins  committed 
contrary  to  the  Assize  since  the  lord  king  came  into 

10  England  next  after  the  conclusion  of  peace  between 
him  and  the  king  his  son. 


10.  Tractatus  de  Legibus   et   Consuetudinibus   Regni 
Anglic.  '   (Reign  of  .Henry  II,.  .  Latin  text  in 
Stubbs,  Select  Charters,  ninth  edition,  pp.  190— 
is  191.     Translation  by  the  editor.) 

Bk.  i.  5.  When  any  one  makes  complaint  to  the 
lord  king  concerning  his  fief  or  his  free  tenement, 
if  it  be  a  complaint  such  as  ought  to  be  brought  to 
his  court  or  one  which  the  king  wishes  to  have 
ao  brought  there,  then  the  demandant  shall  have  the 
following  writ  of  summons: 

6.  The  king  to  the  sheriff  greeting.  Command 
A  that  without  delay  he  restore  to  B  one  hide  of 
land  in  such  a  vill  concerning  which  said  B  com- 
as plains  that  said  A  is  deforcing  him:  and  unless  he 
shall  do  this  summon  him  by  good  summoners,  that 
he  be  before  me  or  my  justices  on  the  morrow  after 

58 


Origin  of  the  Jury 

the  octave  of  Easter  to  show  why  he  has  not  done 
it.     And  have  there  the  summoners  and  this  writ. 

Bk.  ii.  7.  This  Assize  l  is  a  kind  of  royal  benefit, 
granted  to  the  people  through  the  kindness  of  the 

s  prince  on  the  advice  of  the  great  men,  by  means  of 
which  men's  lives  and  the  integrity  of  their  status 
are  so  helpfully  taken  into  consideration  that  in 
maintaining  the  right  which  they  possess  in  free 
tenement  of  land,  men  are  able  to  avoid  the  doubtful 

10  outcome  of  trial  by  battle.  And  thus  it  happens 
that  one  can  escape  the  extreme  sacrifice  of  an  un- 
expected and  premature  death,  or,  if  not  that,  the 
stain  of  eternal  disgrace  resulting  from  that  hateful 
and  untrue  word  which  sounds  so  shamefully  in  the 

is  mouth  of  the  conquered.  This  legal  enactment  is 
truly  the  product  of  the  highest  equity ;  for  the  ends 
of  justice  which,  after  many  and  long  delays,  it  is 
hardly  possible  to  attain  by  wager  of  battle,  are 
reached  both  more  conveniently  and  more  quickly 

ao  by  these  means. 

[The  method  of  choosing  the  jury  in  the  Grand 
Assize]. 

10.  By  such  writs  the  tenant  asks  for  peace  and 

places  himself  upon  the  Assize,  until  his  adversary, 

*s  coming  to  the  court,  seeks  another  writ,  which  re- 

1  Refers  to  the  Grand  Assize,  of  which  the  writer  has  just  been 
speaking. 

5  59 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

quires  that,  by  four  legal  knights  of  the  county  and 
neighborhood,  there  be  elected  twelve  legal  knights 
of  the  same  neighborhood,  who  shall  state  upon 
oath  which  of  the  litigants  has  the  greater  right  in 
s  the  land  in  question. 

n.  Typical   Civil  Pleas   before  the  Justices  of  the 

Bench  and  before  the  Justices  in  Eyre.     1200- 

1202.     (Nos.  17,  70,  107,  197,  207,  212,  216, 

239  in  Select  Civil  Pleas,  edited  for  the  Selden 

10  Society  by  W.   P.  Baildon.     Latin  originals 

and  translations.) 

Surrey,  a.  Theobald  de  Ferring  demands  two 
hides  of  land  with  appurtenances  in  Battersea  and 
Wandsworth  against  Richard  de  Dol'  as  his  right 
is  and  inheritance;  whereof  Augod,  his  father,  was 
seised  as  of  fee  and  right  the  day  and  year  in  which 
King  Henry  the  grandfather  died,  taking  issues  to 
the  value  of  five  shillings  and  more.  Richard  comes 
and  defends  *  [Theobald's]  right ;  and  puts  himself  on 
20  the  Grand  Assize  which  of  them  has  the  greater  right 
in  the  land.  A  day  is  given  them  in  the  advent  of 
the  justices,  etc.;  and  let  four  knights  then  come 
to  elect  twelve. 

Northampton,     b.  The  Assize  comes  to  recognize 

as  what  patron  in  the  time  of  peace  presented  the  last 

parson  to  the  church  of  Woodford,  which  parson  is 

dead ;  the  advowson  z  of  which  [church]  Ralph  Bas- 

1  In  the  sense  of  denies. 
1  The  right  to  appoint  the  parson. 
60 


Origin  of  the  Jury 

set  demands  against  the  Abbot  of  Rochester.  [The 
Abbot]  comes  and  says  that  the  church  [of  Wood- 
ford]  is  not  vacant,  because  his  church  [of  Rochester] 
has  had  it  and  possessed  it  for  thirty  years  and  more, 

s  of  the  gift  of  Osmund  Basset  and  William  Basset. 
And  the  Abbot  shows  their  charters;  one  whereof 
testifies  that  Osmund  Basset  gave  the  church  [of 
Woodford]  to  the  church  of  Rochester  in  pure  [and 
perpetual  alms] ; *  and  the  other  testifies  that  William 

10  conceded  it  to  them  as  Osmund's  gift.  So  that 
Richard  de  Buckton,  who  last  died,  was  perpetual 
vicar  of  that  church  [Woodford],  rendering  to  [the 
Abbot's]  church  [of  Rochester]  two  marks  yearly. 
And  against  this  Ralph  says  that  he,  after  the  obtain- 

15  ing  of  the  said  charters,  presented  the  said  Richard 
to  that  church  [Woodford],  and  thereof  he  puts  him- 
self upon  the  jury.  The  jury  say  that  Ralph  pre- 
sented the  last  parson;  let  him  have  a  writ  to  the 
bishop  to  admit  his  clerk. 

30  Kent.  c.  The  Assize  comes  to  recognize  if  Guy, 
the  father  of  William  and  William,  was  seised  in  his 
demesne  as  of  fee  of  two  acres  and  a  half  of  land  with 
appurtenances  in  Abbeham  the  day  that  he  died, 
and  if  he  died  [within  the  Assize],2  which  land  James 

»S  l  The  tenure  commonly  known  as  frankalmoin  or  free  alms.  Much 
land  was  given  to  the  church  on  this  tenure,  which  carried  with  it 
large  immunities  from  secular  jurisdiction  and  service. 

1  That  is,  the  arbitrary  time  limit  within  which  this  action  could 
be  used.     It  was  always  made  recent  enough  to  warrant  the  as- 
a«  sumption  that  the  jurors'  memories  could  be  relied  upon. 

61 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

de  Fugelest  holds.  The  jury  say  that  Guy  was  so 
seised  the  day  that  he  died,  etc.,  and  that  William 
and  William  are  the  next  heirs.  Judgment:  Let 
them  have  their  seisin  thereof,  and  James  is  in  mercy 
s  for  the  unjust  detention. 

d.  The  Assize  comes  to  recognize  if  Stephen  de 
Poundstock  has  unjustly  and  without  judgment  dis- 
seised Jordan  the  Chaplain  of  his  free  tenement  in 
Trekenna    after    the    second    coronation    of    King 

10  Richard.  The  jury  say  that  [Stephen]  has  so  dis- 
seised [Jordan].  Judgment:  Let  Jordan  have  his 
seisin,  and  Stephen  is  in  mercy.  Damages,  three 
marks;  amercement,  three  marks. 

e.  The  Assize  comes  to  recognize  if  Elias,  the  uncle 
is  of  Henry  de  Karville,  was  seised  in  his  demesne  as 

of  fee  of  one  virgate  of  land  with  appurtenances  in 
Lovington,  on  the  day  that  he  died,  etc.,  and  if  the 
same  Henry  is  his  next  heir;  which  land  Beatrix  de 
Karville  holds.  And  [Beatrix]  comes,  and  says  that 

20  the  Assize  thereof  ought  not  to  proceed,  because 
Philip,  the  brother  of  the  said  Elias,  and  the  father 
of  Henry,  was  seised  of  that  land  after  the  death  of 
Elias ;  and  she  puts  herself  on  the  jury,  and  Henry 
similarly.  The  jury  say  that  Philip  was  so  seised  after 

as  the  death  of  Elias.  Judgment:  Let  Beatrix  hold  in 
peace;  and  Henry  is  in  mercy  for  a  false  claim. 

/.  Simon  de  Lyndon,  Hugh  Scot,  William  de  Mor- 
ton, and  William  son  of  Humphrey — four  knights 
summoned  to  elect  twelve  to  make  the  Grand  Assize 

62 


Origin  of  the  Jury 

between  William  de  Owmby  and  Adam  de  Bulby 
touching  three  carucates  of  land  and  one  mill  with 
appurtenances  in  Owmby,  whereof  the  said  William 
[de  Owmby],  who  is  the  tenant,  put  himself  on  the 

s  Grand  Assize  of  the  king,  and  craved  a  recognition  to 
be  made  which  of  them  has  the  greater  right  in  that 
land, — came  and  elected  these: — Hugh  de  Bussei, 
William  Pigot,  Martin  Martel,  Alured  de  Hadding- 
ton,  William  Chamberlain  of  Morton,  William  de 

io  Laude,  William  de  Woodhall,  Richard  de  Ottring- 
ham,  Ralph  de  Healing,  Robert  son  of  Hamo, 
Robert  Ribaut,  John  de  Lalneto,  Robert  son  of 
William  de  Legbourn,  Peter  de  Kastellium,  Peter 
de  Neville,  and  Robert  de  Manby. 

is  g.  The  Assize  comes  to  recognize  if  Burius,  the 
father  of  Hugh,  was  seised  in  his  demesne  as  of  fee 
of  one  bovate  of  land  with  appurtenances  in  Withern 
the  day  that  he  died,  etc.,  which  land  Robert  de 
Well  holds.  The  jury  say  that  Burius  was  so  seised 

20  thereof,  etc.  Judgment:  Let  Hugh  have  his  seisin, 
and  Robert  is  in  mercy  for  the  unjust  detention. 
Robert  offers  to  the  king  forty  shillings  to  have  the 
oath  of  twenty-four  knights  to  convict  the  jurors, 
because  he  says  that  Burius  was  only  seised  of  half 

as  a  bovate  on  the  day  he  died. 

h.  The  Assize  comes  to  recognize  if  William  son  of 
Haldein  has  unjustly  and  without  judgment  dis- 
seised Hugh  son  of  Richard  of  his  free  tenement  in 
Wellingore  after  Michaelmas  next  [before  the  first 

63 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

coronation  of  the  king].  The  jury  say  that  [William] 
has  not  so  disseised  [Hugh],  because  [Hugh]  never 
had  any  free  tenement.  Judgment:  Let  William 
hold;  and  Hugh  is  in  mercy. 

s  12.  Typical  Pleas  of  the  Crown  before  the  Justices 
Itinerant.  1201—1203.  (Nos.  5,  6,  39,  56, 
57,  66,  and  68  in  Select  Pleas  of  the  Crown, 
edited  for  the  Selden  Society  by  F.  W.  Mait- 
land.  Latin  originals  and  translations.) 
10  Cornish  Eyre,  1201. 

a.  The  jurors  say  that  they  suspect  William  Fis- 
man  of  the  death  of  Agnes  of  Chilleu,  for  the  day 
before  he  had  threatened  her  body  and  goods.     And 
the  four  neighboring  townships  being  sworn,  suspect 

is  him  of  it.     It  is  considered  that  he  purge  himself 
by  water  under  the  Assize. 

b.  William  Burnell  and  Luke  of  the  Well  are  sus- 
pected of  burglary  at  the  house  of  Richard  Palmer 
by  the  jurors  of  the  hundred,  and  by  the  four  neigh- 

ao  boring  townships,  which  are  sworn.     Let  them  purge 
themselves  by  water  under  the  Assize. 
Lincolnshire  Eyre,  1202. 

c.  Ranulf ,   son  of  Richard  of  Saxelby,  appeals  * 
Alan,  Aldane's  son,  for  that  he  in  the  king's  peace 

»s  and  wickedly  slew  [Ranulf's]  father  Richard,   and 
this  he  offers  to  deraign,*  etc.,  but  he  does  not  assert 

1  Appeal  is  here  used  in  the  sense  of  formally  accusing  any  one 
of  a  crime. 

*  To  prove  in  court  by  one  of  the  regular  methods. 

64 


Origin  of  the  Jury 

that  he  saw  the  deed.  And  being  asked  how  long 
has  elapsed  since  his  father  was  slain,  he  says  eigh- 
teen years,  but  he  was  then  within  age  and  he  made 
his  appeal  for  the  first  time  before  Hugh  Bardolf. 

s  And  the  twelve  jurors  being  asked  if  they  suspect 
Alan  of  the  said  death,  say  that  they  do  not.  And 
Alan  comes  and  defends  all  of  it,  etc.,  and  craves  that 
it  be  allowed  in  his  favor  that  the  justices  have 
been  in  the  parts  of  Lincoln  several  times  since 

10  Richard  was  slain,  and  [Ranulf]  never  made  his  ap- 
peal before  them.  It  is  considered  that  the  appeal 
is  null.  So  let  Alan  be  quit.  Ranulf  in  mercy. 
Pledges  for  the  amercement,  Robert  of  Owmby  and 
Simon  of  Saxby. 

is  Bedfordshire  Eyre,  1202. 

d.  Aubrey,  wife  of  Peter  Crawe,  appealed  Oliver 
and  Roland,  brothers  of  the  parson  of  Cranfield,  for 
that  they  wounded  Peter  her  husband.     And  she 
has  not  prosecuted  her  appeal.     And  because  Peter 

ao  died,  the  jurors  are  asked  whether  he  died  of  those 
wounds.  They  say  that  he  did  not  die  of  those 
wounds.  Let  Oliver  and  Roland  go  quit  thereof. 

e.  The  house  of  a  certain  woman  at  Shelton  was 
burgled  by  night.     Robert  Fale  is  suspected  of  this 

as  and  other  crimes  by  the  jurors  and  the  four  neighbor- 
ing townships.     Let  him  purge  himself  by  water. 
Staffordshire  Eyre,  1203. 

/.  Andrew    of    Burwarton    is    suspected    by    the 
jurors  of  the  death  of  one  Hervey,  for  that  he  con- 

65 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

cealed  himself  because  of  that   death.     Therefore* 
let  him  purge  himself  by  ordeal  of  water. 

g.  Godith,  formerly  wife  of  Walter  Palmer,  ap- 
peals Richard  of  Stonall,  for  that  he  in  the  king's 

5  peace  wickedly  and  by  night  with  his  force  came  to 
her  house  and  bound  her  and  her  husband,  and 
afterward  slew  the  said  Walter  her  husband;  and 
this  she  offers  to  prove  against  him  as  wife  of  the 
slain  as  the  court  shall  consider.  And  he  defends 

10  all  of  it.     And  the  jurors  and  the  whole  neighbor- 
hood suspect  him  of  that  death.     And  so  it  is  con- 
sidered that  he  purge  himself  by  ordeal  of  iron,  for 
he  has  elected  to  bear  the  iron. 
13.   Typical  Pleas  of  the  Crown  before  the  Justices 

is  Itinerant  in  Gloucestershire.     1221.     (Nos.  52, 

213,  228,  229,  326,  and  435  in  Pleas  of  the 
Crown  for  the  County  of  Gloucester,  edited  by 
F.  W.  Maitland.  Latin  originals.  Transla- 
tions by  the  editor.) 

20  a.  Marinus  of  Winchcomb,  who  was  charged  with 
the  death  of  a  certain  man  in  the  house  of  his  father, 
gives  two  marks  to  have  an  inquisition  as  to  whether 
or  not  he  is  guilty;  Matthew  Cook,  Odo  of  Dumble- 
ton,  and  Joseph  de  Marsh  are  accepted  as  pledges. 

23  The  jurors  of  Winchcomb  and  of  Kiftsgate  and  of 
Gretston  say  definitely  that  he  is  not  guilty,  and 
hence  he  is  quit.1 

1  "The  jurors  of  the  borough  of  Winchcomb  say  that  Marinus 
is  accused  of  homicide;  he  pays  two  marks  to  have  an  inquisition  as 

66 


Origin  of  the  Jury 

b.  William  de  Fons  and  Alexander  his  son  were 
suspected  of  the  death  of  a  certain  merchant,  who 
was  lodged  in  the  house  of  said  William,  and  who 
was  seen  to  be  lodged  there  and  who  never  came  out 

4  alive;  and  they  come  and  deny  it  all  but  refuse  to 
put  themselves  upon  their  country.1  The  jurors  say 
that  Alexander  and  Agnes  his  mother  killed  said 
merchant,  and  carried  him  out,  and  had  from  him 
fifteen  marks  and  a  belt,  and  his  [Alexander's]  father 

10  was  consenting;  and  the  townships  of  Charlton, 
Leckhampton,  and  Ham  say  the  same,  and  they 
well  know  that  he  was  lodged  there  and  that  he 
was  carried  out  dead.  Let  William  be  kept  in  gaol. 
Let  him  be  committed  to  twelve  legal  men  by  order 

is  of  the  sheriff,  and  let  the  others  remain  in  gaol.2 

c.  William  Bot  and  Hugelot  his  son  have  been 
arrested  on  the  indictment  of  twelve  jurors  because 
of  their  reception  of  John  Bot,  brother  of  said  Will- 
to  his  guilt  or  innocence:   then  the  jurors  of  two  neighboring  hun- 

20  dreds  are  called  in  and  all  say  distinctly  that  he  is  not  guilty.     He 
buys  the  privilege  of  being  tried  by  twenty-four  jurors  in  addition 
to  the  twelve  who  have  presented  the  matter." — MAITLAND. 
1  That  is,  accept  trial  by  jury. 
*  "This  is  the  clearest  case  there  is  on  this  roll  against  trying,  or 

35  rather  against  punishing,  those  who  do  not  submit  themselves  to 
trial.  Apparently  William,  Alexander,  and  Agnes  have  as  full  a  trial 
as  any  accused  person  ever  has.  The  jurors  and  the  three  townships 
declare  them  guilty;  but  Alexander  and  Agnes  merely  remain  in 
gaol,  while  William  is,  I  think,  let  out  on  bail,  though  this  last  fact 

3«  is  left  somewhat  obscure." — MAITLAND.  Another  manuscript  re- 
cording this  same  case  has  for  its  last  clause  (referring  to  Alexander 
and  Agnes),  "And  because  they  did  not  place  themselves  upon  their 
country  let  them  be  kept  in  gaol." 

67 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

iam,  a  fugitive  on  account  of  sheep  which  he  stole, 
and  likewise  because  of  their  reception  of  a  certain 
other  thief  who  was  hung,  and  also  for  other  male- 
factions  of  which  said  jurors  suspect  said  William 

s  and  Hugelot.  And  they  come  before  the  justices 
and  deny  the  reception  and  society  of  the  thief,  and 
their  consent,  and  place  themselves  upon  the  ver- 
dict of  the  twelve  jurors  and  upon  their  country 
for  good  or  bad. 

10  The  jurors  say  definitely  that  said  William  re- 
ceived said  John  after  that  flight,  and  they  well 
know  that  he  was  to  have  his  share  from  the  thefts 
of  said  John.  They  say  also  that  he  received 
Walter  de  Hedworth  the  thief  who  was  hung  after 

is  Roger  Goman,  father  of  said  Walter,  fled  from  him 
on  account  of  the  theft.  And  because  Hugelot,  son 
of  said  William,  was  living  with  him  [William]  and 
was  of  his  household,  the  jurors  say  that  he  also 
was  a  party  to  that  reception  and  the  other  male- 

ao  factions.  And  the  townships  of  Horsley,  Wood- 
chester,  Rodmarton,  and  Tetbury  say  the  same,  and 
therefore  it  is  considered  that  they  be  hung. 

d.  William  of  Lechlade  was  arrested  upon  the  in- 
dictment of  twelve  jurors  for  the  theft  of  some  sheep 

»s  that  had  been  stolen.  And  he  came  before  the  jus- 
tices and  refused  to  put  himself  upon  a  jury.  And 
they  [the  twelve  jurors]  say  upon  oath  that  they 
beMeve  him  to  be  the  thief  of  sheep  that  were  stolen 
at  Bibury,  but  they  do  not  know  the  names  of  those 

68 


Origin  of  the  Jury 

whose  sheep  they  were;  and  the  townships  of  Lech- 
lade,  Southrop,  Hathrop,  and  Kempsford  [say  the 
same,  and  therefore  let  him  be  kept  in  custody].1 
e.  Malefactors  came  to  the  house  of  William  de 

s  Hull  of  Elniton,  and  killed  said  William  and  carried 
off  his  goods;  Reginald  Cook  and  Geoffrey  Bochan, 
arrested  for  that  death,  come  before  the  justices  and 
deny  it  all  and  put  themselves  on  the  verdict  of 
twelve  jurors  and  the  townships.  Who  all  come 

10  and  say  that  they  do  not  suspect  them  nor  any  par- 
ticular man;  and  therefore  let  them  go  quit  thereof. 
/.  Henry  Piterich  of  Whaddon  was  held  in  the 
castle  of  the  lord  king  at  Gloucester  for  stolen  sheep 
whereof  he  was  accused;  and  afterward  at  the  lord 

is  king's  command  by  writ  he  was  let  out  on  bail  until 
the  coming  of  the  justices;  and  then  comes  said 
Henry  and  denies  the  theft,  etc.;  but  he  does  not 
wish  to  put  himself  upon  the  verdict  of  the  twelve 
jurors,  and  therefore  let  him  be  kept  in  custody. 

*o  i  These  last  words  are  found  in  a  badly  mutilated  manuscript. 
"Seemingly  another  case,  in  which  a  man  is  tried  and  found  guilty 
by  the  jurors  and  four  townships,  but  is  merely  left  in  custody  be- 
cause he  has  not  put  himself  on  his  country.  It  is  to  be  noticed, 
however,  that  the  jurors  do  not  know  to  whom  the  sheep  belonged. 

as  In  this  case  it  seems  clear  that  the  jurors,  who  say  on  their  oath 
that  they  know  William  to  be  a  thief,  are  the  same  jurors  upon  whose 
indictment  he  was  captured." — MAITLAND. 


PROBLEM   III 
III. — Some  Antecedents  of  the  House  of  Commons 


Some    Antecedents   of  the   House  of 
Commons 

I.   THE   HISTORICAL   SETTING   OF   THE   PROBLEM 


same  conditions  in  society  and  central  government 
which  brought  forth  the  jury  system  brought  forth 
also  the  House  of  Commons.1  The  beginnings  of  self- 
government  were  along  these  two  lines.  Judging  of  fact 
is  doubtless  the  most  important  step  in  judicial  procedure  ; 
and  in  England,  by  a  striking  and  unprecedented  com- 
bination of  circumstances,  this  function,  in  the  great  civil 
and  criminal  cases,  passed  into  the  hands  of  representa- 
tives of  the  middle  class.  The  circumstances  which  pre- 
pared the  way  for  a  central  assembly  of  popularly  elected 
representatives  are  equally  interesting,  and  were  surely 
as  unaccompanied  by  any  purposeful  shaping  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  final  result. 

Anglo-Saxon  government  had  been  characterized  by 
the  slightness  of  the  connection  between  central  and  local 
institutions  and  the  comparative  unimportance  of  the 
former.  The  later  kings  felt  that  they  should  do  more, 
and  were  conscious  of  many  of  the  gaps  and  weak  places. 

llt  is  suggested  that  the  student  reread  here  the  "  Historical  Set- 
ting" of  Problem  II. 

73 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

But,  for  the  most  part,  they  were  wanting  in  the  neces- 
sary strength  and  resourcefulness;  and  the  same  futile 
methods  were  tried  reign  after  reign.  The  perseverance 
and  optimism  of  many  of  these  sovereigns  deserve  com- 
mendation, but  little  else.  Government  was  marking 
time.  The  sheriff,  however,  a  purely  royal  official  who 
did  king's  business  in  the  shire,  was  one  substantial 
achievement  in  the  attempt  to  bring  the  king  into  more 
effective  touch  with  the  localities.  It  was  a  hint  of  the 
long  process  that,  after  the  Norman  Conquest,  made  the 
constitution. 

The  Conqueror  saw  possibilities  in  the  sheriff  and  re- 
tained him.  In  succeeding  reigns  he  was  used  as  never 
before,  and  the  strong  kings  kept  him,  great  local  landed 
proprietor  as  he  usually  was,  from  traveling  too  far  on 
the  tempting  road  to  feudal  independence.  But  the 
king's  business  was  growing  by  leaps  and  bounds,  and  in 
Henry  I.'s  reign,  partly  to  supplement  the  sheriff  and 
partly  to  hold  him  in  check,  itinerant  justices — the  missi 
dominici  of  England — were  developed.  The  anarchy  of 
Stephen's  reign  interrupted  all  good  beginnings,  and,  had 
it  lasted  longer,  much  might  have  been  lost  past  recovery. 
Then  came  Henry  II.  (with  whose  reign  the  documents 
of  this  Problem  begin),  a  king  endowed,  if  ever  king  was, 
with  just  the  right  qualities  to  meet  the  governmental 
problems  and  opportunities  of  his  time.  It  is  always 
pleasant  to  think  of  the  young  sovereign,  scarce  twenty- 
one  when  he  came  to  the  throne,  with  his  rare  apprecia- 
tive deference  for  the  great  past  of  his  grandfather's  reign, 
and  perhaps  already  conscious  of  endless  resources  within 
himself. 

Norman  and  Plantagenet  rulers  were  learning  much 
about  local  institutions  and  conditions — about  hundred 
and  shire  courts,  about  tithing  and  frank-pledge,  about 

74 


Antecedents  of  the  House  of  Commons 

the  boroughs,  about  freeholders  and  knights.  They  saw 
always  more  work  to  do,  more  information  to  be  sought, 
new  ways  to  develop  their  courts,  to  swell  their  revenue, 
to  keep  the  country  in  peace.  The  work  was  so  varied 
that  all  sorts  of  men,  official  and  unofficial,  might  be  em- 
ployed.  Some  of  it,  indeed,  could  perhaps  be  better  done 
by  unofficial  means;  there  were  temporary  and  isolated 
jobs  in  plenty.  And  so  in  this  turbulent  time,  when  the 
crash  of  the  Conquest  had  broken  barriers  and  opened 
ways  and  England  was  making  ready  for  her  next  great 
reach  forward  in  civilization,  these  new  relations  between 
center  and  locality  were  big  with  possibilities.  Knight  and 
freeholder — the  stuff  out  of  which  the  House  of  Com- 
mons was  made — had  entered  upon  their  apprenticeship 
in  public  service;  and  many  principles  and  devices  were 
being  hammered  out  in  the  daily  practice  of  local  adminis- 
tration which  had  an  unguessed  future  before  them  in  the 
broader  sphere  of  national  polity. 

II.    INTRODUCTIONS   TO   TKD2    SOURCES 

i.  Inquest  of  Sheriffs. 

Henry's  proceedings  against  his  sheriffs  is  thus  de- 
scribed in  one  of  the  chronicles  of  his  reign:1  "When 
the  Easter  festival  was  ended  he  [the  king]  proceeded 
to  London,  and  there  held  a  great  council  concerning  the 
coronation  of  his  elder  son  Henry,  and  also  concerning 
the  affairs  of  his  kingdom;  and  there  he  removed  almost 
all  the  sheriffs  of  England  and  their  bailiffs,  because  they 
had  treated  badly  the  men  of  his  kingdom.  And  all  of 
the  sheriffs  and  their  bailiffs  found  pledges  for  themselves 
that  they  would  stand  to  justice,  and  that  they  would 
restore  to  the  lord  king  and  the  men  of  the  kingdom  what 

lGesta  Regis  Henrici  Sccundi,  I,  4-5. 
\  75 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

they  ought  to  restore  of  the  things  they  had  taken.  And 
afterwards  the  king  caused  all  the  men  of  his  kingdom, 
that  is  to  say  earls,  barons,  knights,  freeholders,  and  also 
villeins,  throughout  the  several  counties,  to  take  oath 
on  the  holy  gospels  that  they  would  tell  the  truth:  name- 
ly, what  and  how  much  the  sheriffs  and  their  bailiffs  had 
taken  from  them,  what  by  a  judgment  and  what  with- 
out a  judgment,  and  for  what  kind  of  misdeed.  But  great 
evil  came  thence  to  the  people  of  England ;  because,  after 
the  inquisition  had  been  made,  the  king  put  back  some  of 
those  sheriffs  into  their  places,  and  these  were  afterwards 
much  more  cruel  than  they  had  been  before."  This  im- 
portant proceeding  took  place  in  1170,  after  the  king  had 
been  out  of  the  country  for  four  years.  These  were  the 
four  years  following  the  Assize  of  Clarendon.  Large  quanti- 
ties of  property  had  been  confiscated  as  a  result  of  the 
criminal  proceedings  instituted  by  that  Assize,  and  the 
sheriffs  were  evidently  under  suspicion  of  having  appro- 
priated some  of  this  to  their  own  use;  the  recent  heavy 
aid  which  had  been  levied  on  the  occasion  of  the  marriage 
of  the  king's  eldest  daughter  also  afforded  opportunities  to 
dishonest  sheriffs;  and  it  is  clear  that  in  very  many  ways 
the  sheriffs  had  been  growing  corrupt  and  abusive.  A  thor- 
ough investigation  of  them  and  their  subordinates,  by 
the  standard  method  of  getting  all  local  information,  was 
determined  on.  But  it  is  interesting  to  notice  that, 
having  gone  so  far,  the  king  concluded  that  it  would  be 
a  good  time  to  make  a  general  investigation  oi.  the  whole 
local  administration,  private  as  well  as  public;  and  so 
the  entire  baronial  system  of  courts  and  finance  was 
included.  Henry,  who  was  so  rapidly  developing  his 
own  courts  and  who  certainly  had  an  eye  to  judicial  in- 
come, was  probably  curious  to  find  out  how  much  the 
barons  were  realizing  from  theirs.  It  was  to  be  a  colossal 

76 


Antecedents  of  the  House  of  Commons 

inquest,  perhaps  the  most  extensive  since  Domesday; 
and,  as  Stubbs  has  remarked,  if  the  report  was  ever  made 
it  "must  have  been  a  record  of  the  most  interesting  kind 
conceivable." 

2.  Gesta  Regis  Henrici  Secundi  Benedicti  Abbatis. 
This  is  perhaps  the  greatest  chronicle  from  an  age  of 

specially  able  chronicle-writing.  The  group  of  historians 
more  or  less  identified  with  Henry  II. 's  court  represents 
some  of  the  best  thought  and  practice  in  historical  method 
in  the  middle  ages,  and  constituted  one  of  the  many  high 
influences  from  that  period  felt  for  long  afterward.  This 
chronicle  covers  Henry  II. 's  reign  from  1170  and  also 
three  years  of  the  reign  of  Richard  I.;  the  writing  of  it 
began  about  1172  and  was  carried  on  in  very  strictly 
contemporaneous  fashion.  Its  st}4e  is  remarkably  simple 
and  direct,  its  material  well  chosen,  and  its  accuracy  and 
fairness  of  statement  have  been  proved  in  so  many  in- 
stances that  it  inspires  confidence  throughout.  It  is 
known  that  it  was  not  written  by  Benedict,  abbot  of 
Peterborough,  whose  name  has  long  been  identified 
with  it. 

In  the  passage  cited,  the  choice  of  the  bishop  and 
abbots  was  to  be  made  in  the  way  that  had  been  regular 
since  the  famous  compromise  between  Henry  I.  and 
Anselm — the  election  took  place  in  the  king's  presence 
and  the  king's  will  was  usually  the  predominant  factor. 
But  the  king  needed  information  and  advice  in  regard 
to  the  available  candidates,  and  used  various  ways  to  get 
it.  The  way  shown  here  seems  particularly  effective  and 
interesting. 

3.  The  Assize  of  Arms,  one  of  the  great  official  acts  of 
Henry  II. 's  reign,  was  a  successful  attempt  to  rehabilitate 
the  ancient  militia.     The  king  was  depending  more  and 
more  upon  mercenaries  in  his  wars  in  France,  and  less 

77 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

and  less  upon  the  feudal  levy  for  defense  in  England. 
The  association  of  knights  and  non-noble  freemen,  urban 
and  rural,  in  this  militia  ordinance  shows  that  feudal  dis- 
tinctions and  practices  already  had  little  vitality  in  Eng- 
land, and  is  very  significant  for  the  future.  It  is  another 
evidence  that  England's  great  and  peculiar  middle  class 
was  forming.  The  character  of  the  arms  purchased  was 
to  depend  upon  the  amount  of  property  which  a  man 
possessed,  and  article  9  is  important  in  showing  how  in- 
formation on  this  point  was  obtained. 

4.  Ordinance  of  the  Saladin  Tithe. 

This  is  an  illustration  of  a  very  important  result  of  the 
later  crusades,  the  development  of  new  forms  of  taxation. 
Increasing  attempts  were  made  adequately  to  organize 
and  finance  these  great  expeditions,  and  necessity  was  the 
mother  of  many  a  new  idea  and  device.  The  Saladin 
Tithe  virtually  introduced  to  England  the  taxation  of 
revenue  and  movables;  and  taxation  of  this  kind  of  prop- 
erty created  a  new  problem  in  assessment.  This  ordi- 
nance was  issued  by  Henry  a  few  days  after  he  and  Philip 
of  France  had  completed  the  preliminary  arrangements 
for  setting  out  on  the  thrjd  crusade. 

5.  Form  of  Proceeding  on  the  Judicial  Visitation. 
This  document  was  the  commission  given  the  justices 

who  were  sent  out  on  circuit  late  in  1194.  "The  general 
business  of  the  visitation,"  says  Stubbs,  "is  of  the  usual 
mixed  kind,  judicial  and  financial,  and  should  be  com- 
pared with  the  Inquest  of  Sheriffs  in  1170,  as  well  as  with 
the  Assizes  of  1166  and  1176."  It  should  be  remembered 
that  much  of  this  financial  business  closely  touched  the 
sheriffs,  and  the  central  power  was  here  using  the  jury, 
not  only  on  the  great  criminal  and  civil  pleas  which  came 
before  the  justices  in  eyre,  but  also  to  learn  the  truth 
about  local  officials  and  administration.  The  coroners, 

78 


Antecedents  of  the  House  of  Commons 

who  are  mentioned  in  the  twentieth  article,  were  a  class 
of  officials  first  appointed  in  Henry  II. 's  reign.  This  was 
the  earliest  of  a  long  series  of  royal  experiments  in  trans- 
ferring a  part  of  the  sheriff's  power  and  authority  to  a 
new  officer.  The  very  early  coroners  were  local  criminal 
justices  who  could  try  cases  and  impanel  juries  to  make 
presentments.  But  soon  their  chief  duty  was  to  "keep 
the  pleas  of  the  crown."  This  meant  that  they  held  pre- 
liminary hearings  and  kept  a  record  of  local  criminal 
matters  for  later  use  by  sheriff  or  itinerant  justice.  It  is 
clear  that  the  king  did  not  wish  to  have  their  selection 
in  any  way  controlled  by  the  sheriffs.  It  should  be 
noticed  from  what  classes  of  people  they  were  drawn. 

6.  Summons  of  Juries  to  St.  Albans. 

This  is  a  contemporary  chronicler's  transcript  of  a 
writ  which  is  not  itself  extant.  It  therefore  lacks  the 
authority  of  an  official  document,  but  there  is  little  reason 
to  doubt  that  the  transcript  gives  the  substance  of  the 
writ  itself.  The  king  had  just  become  reconciled  with 
the  church  after  their  long  quarrel.  It  was  immediately 
incumbent  upon  him  to  make  good,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
damages  and  losses  which  he  had  for  five  years  been  in- 
flicting on  church  property.  This  could  best  be  done  on 
the  basis  of  an  assessment  by  local  juries  acquainted  with 
the  details  of  the  seizures  and  injuries.  In  1208,  when 
the  first  and  greatest  seizures  of  church  property  had  been 
made,  the  confiscated  property  was  intrusted  to  the 
keeping^  of  men  in  neighboring  vills,  undoubtedly  vills 
on  the  king's  demesne.  This  accounts  for  the  use  of 
demesne- vill  juries  for  the  assessment  of  1213.  It  may 
be  added  that  the  assessment  was  not  carried  out  accord- 
ing to  the  plan  of  this  writ.  About  two  months  later  a 
series  of  local  inquests  was  undertaken  on  the  initiative 
of  the  church,  and  the  king  co-operated. 

79 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

7.  Summons  to  a  Great  Council. 

In  this  case  the  official  text  of  the  writ  of  summons  has 
come  down  to  us.  Notice  the  different  purposes  for 
which  the  several  elements  were  summoned.  Whether 
or  not  the  proposed  assembly  met  and  what  was  the 
business  to  be  transacted  are  matters  upon  which  there 
is  no  information.  The  autumn  of  1213  was  a  time  of 
much  anxiety  and  activity  on  John's  part.  He  was  pre- 
paring for  his  last  great  effort  to  regain  his  lost  lands  in 
France  and  was  hampered  at  every  turn  by  the  English 
barons  whom  he  had  alienated  by  years  of  abusive  rule. 

8.  Magna  Carta. 

This  most  notable  document  in  English  history  was 
based  upon  a  list  of  articles  (Articuli  Baronum)  presented 
to  John  by  the  army  of  victorious  barons  at  Runnymede 
on  Monday,  June  15,  1215.  These  articles,  which  the 
king  was  forced  to  grant,  were  the  result  of  a  series  of 
attempts,  running  through  the  spring  of  1215,  to  draw 
up  a  comprehensive  list  of  the  points  of  abuse  and  mis- 
government  upon  which  the  barons  proposed  to  treat 
with  him.  During  the  four  or  five  days  following  this 
eventful  Monday,  the  articles  were  carefully  reworded 
and  expanded,  and  the  whole  document  cast  in  the  form 
of  a  permanent  charter  or  grant  of  the  king.  This  final 
form  was  no  doubt  due  in  large  part  to  the  coronation 
charter  of  Henry  I.,  which  figured  prominently  in  some 
meetings  of  the  barons  where  plans  of  action  against  the 
king  were  discussed. 

9.  Writ  for  Assembling  the  County  Court  before  the 
Itinerant  Justices. 

This  very  inclusive  county  assembly  was  only  held 
once  in  several  years;  it  was  the  court  summoned  to  meet 
the  itinerant  justices  when  they  were  sent  out  with  one 
of  their  general  commissions,  and  was  much  larger  and 

80 


Antecedents  of  the  House  of  Commons 

more  formal  than  the  ordinary  monthly  county  court  of 
this  time.  "The  justices  who  were  sent  out  on  such 
visitations  had  tremendous  commissions;  they  not  only 
tried  all  sorts  of  cases,  but  were  still,  as  in  the  earlier 
time,  collectors  of  revenue,  and  might  be  charged  to  at- 
tend to  any  kind  of  king's  business.  Henry  III.  got  a 
great  revenue  by  their  means.  They  put  local  juries  on 
oath  for  a  great  variety  of  purposes,  their  visitation  being 
a  prolonged  inquiry  into  every  matter  that  could  possibly 
concern  the  king."  It  was  this  great  variety  and  amount 
of  business  and  the  necessity  for  having  on  hand  the 
materials  for  making  up  a  jury  for  almost  any  purpose, 
administrative  or  judicial,  that  account  for  the  very  in- 
clusive summons  illustrated  in  this  document. 

10.  Writ  for  the  Collection  of  a  Carucage. 

The  methods  of  assessing  and  collecting  taxes  varied 
much  in  detail  during  this  period.  But  one  element  in 
them  approached  stability.  This  was  the  employment 
of  local  knights.  The  number,  the  method  of  choice, 
the  precise  way  in  which  they  were  to  conduct  the  assess- 
ment or  were  to  co-operate  with  sheriff  or  royal  com- 
missioners changed  from  time  to  time  and  from  tax  to 
tax;  but  the  knights  usually  bore  the  burden  of  work 
and  responsibility.  This  royal  writ  for  the  carucage  of 
1220  furnishes  as  typical  an  instance  as  any,  and  its  very 
emphatic  account  of  some  features  of  the  procedure  is 
interesting.  The  carucage  was  a  land  tax  assessed  on 
the  "ploughland"  or  "plough."  This  measure  of  land 
approximated  100  acres,  the  amount  which  the  regular 
plough  team  was  supposed  to  work  in  a  season. 

11.  Distraint  of  Knighthood. 

This  is  the  first  of  a  long  series  of  attempts,  known 
under  the  general  term  "distraint  of  knighthood,"   to 
make  all  who  had  the  property  qualifications  for  knight- 
Si 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

hood  assume  its  name  and  insignia,  and,  what  was  of 
vastly  more  consequence,  its  burdens.  Ten  years  later, 
a  similar  writ  was  issued,  but  applying  only  to  those  who 
held  knights'  fees  of  the  king.  The  king  received  no 
small  revenue  from  the  fines  and  confiscations  resulting 
from  the  enforcement  of  these  writs.  Much  is  heard  of 
distraint  of  knighthood  in  the  following  reign. 

12.  Writ  Summoning  Four  Knights  of  the  Shire. 

In  June,  1226,  a  writ  similar  to  this  had  been  sent  to 
eight  counties — Gloucester,  Dorset,  Somerset,  Bedford, 
Buckingham,  Westmoreland,  Northampton,  and  Lincoln. 
The  meeting  was  to  have  been  held  at  Lincoln  the  fol- 
lowing September.  But  the  king,  finding  that  he  could 
not  be  present  on  the  day  set,  sent  out  word  on  Sep- 
tember 2  that  the  meeting  was  not  to  be  held,  and  hence 
it  would  not  be  necessary  to  elect  the  knights.  Nothing 
further  is  heard  of  the  matter  until  the  next  year,  when 
the  writ  here  printed  was  sent  out  on  August  13.  Evi- 
dently these  local  disputes  about  provisions  in  Magna 
Carta  had  spread  and  become  more  serious,  so  that  now 
it  was  thought  necessary  to  hold  a  nation-wide  hearing 
on  the  subject.  The  king  wished  to  hear  the  people's 
story  from  their  own  elected  representatives.  It  was 
probably  before  the  king  and  his  council  that  the  knights 
and  sheriffs  were  to  appear  at  Westminster. 

13.  Writ  Summoning  Representatives  of  Seven  Bor- 
oughs. 

The  first  five  towns  mentioned  in  this  writ  are  the 
Cinque  Ports,  the  ancient  group  of  southeastern  ports, 
charged  with  special  burdens  of  defense  and  enjoying 
compensating  honors  and  privileges.  There  are  several 
instances  during  the  first  part  of  the  thirteenth  century  in 
which  the  king  transacted  business  with  the  Cinque  Ports 
bv  methods  similar  to  that  shown  here.  But  in  this  case 

82 


Antecedents  of  the  House  of  Commons 

the  two  "ancient  towns"  of  Rye  and  Winchelsea  were 
included  in  the  summons.  The  very  critical  relations 
with  France  just  at  this  time  were  probably  the  occasion 
of  the  meeting. 

14.  Writ  Summoning  Two  Knights  of  the  Shire. 

As  the  king  was  conducting  the  campaign  in  Gascony, 
this  writ  was  sent  out  by  the  authority  of  the  queen  and 
the  king's  brother,  the  Earl  of  Cornwall.  A  great  council 
had  just  been  held  (January  27)  and  the  prelates  had  on 
that  occasion  refused  to  make  any  engagements  on  be- 
half of  the  lower  clergy.  Indeed  they  mentioned  some 
concessions  which  they  believed  would  have  to  be  made 
in  order  to  secure  a  money  grant  for  the  present  purpose. 
But  they  promised  to  use  all  diligence  and  zeal  in  setting 
forth  the  king's  need  and  in  obtaining  as  liberal  a  grant 
as  possible.  So,  on  the  same  day  that  the  writ  here 
printed  was  sent  out  to  the  counties,  writs  having  the  same 
object  were  sent  to  the  several  bishoprics,  suggesting 
diocesan  meetings  of  the  clergy  for  the  presentation  and 
discussion  of  the  matter;  and  from  these  meetings  "dis- 
creet men"  were  to  come  up  to  Westminster  to  certify 
the  king's  council  of  the  local  actions.  As  to  the  attitude 
of  the  laymen,  the  regents  wrote  to  the  king  three  days 
after  these  writs  were  sent  that  they  did  not  believe  he 
would  obtain  an  aid  from  them  unless  he  were  able  in 
some  way  to  convince  them  of  his  bona-fide  intention  to 
observe  and  enforce  the  charter  of  liberties.  This  was 
already  an  old  grievance.  Magna  Carta  had  thus  earl}'' 
acquired  a  great  name  and  was  an  object  of  reverence, 
and,  often  as  Henry  III.  had  broken  faith,  his  solemn 
promise  to  keep  the  charter  was  the  surest  way  to  win 
money  from  his  people. 

15.  Writ  Summoning  Three  Knights  of  the  Shire. 

In  April,  1261,  Henry  had  been  released  by  papal  bull 

83 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

from  the  oath  which  bound  him  to  observe  the  Provisions 
of  Oxford;  and  he  forthwith  proceeded  to  restore  the 
government  as  rapidly  as  possible  to  the  old  basis.  This 
of  course  greatly  alarmed  the  baronage,  for  they  saw  all 
the  fruits  of  their  victory  and  great  labor  in  1258  slipping 
away  from  them.  The  pressing  danger  did  a  great  deal 
to  heal  the  feuds  that  success  had  bred  in  the  barons' 
ranks,  especially  the  feud  between  the  earls  of  Leicester 
and  Gloucester;  and  during  the  summer  and  autumn, 
something  of  the  former  unity  of  action  was  restored. 
The  barons  evidently  felt  the  need  of  a  broader  backing, 
and,  in  this  new  crisis,  proposed  to  consult  the  gentry. 
This  seems  to  have  been  the  purpose  of  the  summons  re- 
ferred to  in  the  king's  writ  here  printed,  and  this  is  all 
that  is  known  of  it.  But  the  king's  party  could  not  allow 
the  opposition  the  advantage  of  this  conference,  and  hence 
attempted  to  forestall  it.  There  is  nothing  to  show 
whether  or  not  either  of  these  rival  meetings  was  held. 

1 6.  Writ  Summoning  Four  Knights  of  the  Shire. 
The  battle  of  Lewes,  in  which  Simon  de  Montfort 

and  his  followers  won  their  great  victory,  was  fcught  in 
May,  1264.  It  left  Simon  in  substantial  authority,  but 
writs  were  issued  and  all  other  business  done  in  the  name 
of  the  captive  king.  Three  weeks  after  the  battle  the 
writ  here  printed  was  issued.  The  proposed  assembly 
was  held,  and  transacted  important  business  relating  to 
a  provisional  scheme  of  government  under  which  the 
country  was  to  be  ruled  until  the  points  in  controversy 
could  be  settled  in  some  permanent  way. 

17.  Writs  Relating  to  the  Assembly  of  January,  1265. 
Most  of  the  summoning  writs  for  this  assembly  were 

issued  in  December  of  the  same  year  as  the  preceding; 
but  the  writs  to  the  Cinque  Ports  appear  not  to  have 
r*5ued  until  the  very  day  of  assembling,  unless,  as 
84 


Antecedents  of  the  House  of  Commons 

there  is  some  evidence,  there  was  postponement  or  delay 
of  a  week.  From  June  to  December,  Simon  had  been  fully 
occupied  in  securing  the  fruits  of  victory,  and  in  attempt- 
ing to  subdue  or  reconcile  many  half-conquered  or  dis- 
contented elements.  He  had  no  united  baronage  back  of 
him ;  he  led  a  faction.  He  had  before  this  shown  a  dispo- 
sition to  seek  a  broad  foundation  of  counsel  and  support  in 
the  English  middle  classes,  and  the  present  situation  car- 
ried him  much  further  in  the  same  direction.  The  as- 
sembly which  met  in  January  continued  well  into  March, 
and,  for  the  most  part,  served  its  expected  purpose.  The 
form  of  government  proposed  in  the  assembly  of  the 
previous  June  was  confirmed  and  very  favorable  terms 
were  made  with  the  king's  son,  Edward,  the  strongest 
man  on  the  royal  side.  It  may  perhaps  be  said  that 
during  the  days  of  this  assembly  Simon's  fortunes  were 
at  their  height;  and  yet  the  bitter  quarrel  with  the  Earl 
of  Derby  was  itself  an  indication  of  the  sources  of  the 
swift  and  complete  overthrow  which  was  impending. 

m.    QUESTIONS   AND   SUGGESTIONS   FOR   STUDY 

[In  answering  the  questions  on  this  problem,  the  student  is  ex- 
pected to  use  also,  when  necessary,  the  sources  printed  for  Problem 
II.] 

1.  In  the  cases  of  sworn  inquest  from  Henry  II. 's  reign  or 

earlier,  from  what  classes  were  men  most  frequently 
selected?    What  were  their  chief  qualifications? 

2.  Why  were  so  many  different  classes  asked  questions  in  the 

Inquest  of  Sheriffs?    With  what  general  lines  of  infor- 
mation was  the  king  concerned  here? 

3.  How  did  the  Assize  of  Arms  involve  taxation?    Just  what 

was  the  function  of  the  sworn  inquest  here?    In  what 
other  document  or  documents  was  it  used  in  sub- 
stantially the  same  way? 
85 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

4.  Enumerate  the  instances  here  shown  for  the  twelfth  cen- 

tury in  which  the  sworn  inquest  was  used  entirely  apart 
from  court  procedure.  Find  a  case  or  cases  in  which 
the  same  group  was  questioned  on  both  judicial  and 
non-judicial  matters. 

5.  In  what  reign  was  there  the  greatest  activity  in  applying 

the  sworn  inquest  to  new  kinds  of  business? 

6.  In  what  ways  besides  the  sworn  inquest  was  the  king  em- 

ploying men  in  local  governmental  affairs?  Did  any 
of  these  involve  an  official  position? 

7.  When  did  the  method  of  choosing  men  for  inquests  or  other 

local  purposes  begin  to  change?  What  proves  that 
there  was  a  change?  What  does  it  seem  likely  was  the 
earlier  method?  When  first  is  the  new  method  found 
in  its  completed  form?  How  generally  does  the  new 
method  seem  to  have  been  adopted?  Can  you  suggest 
any  reason  for  the  change? 

8.  What  is  the  clearest  example  of  the  principle  of  representa- 

tion in  the  reign  of  Henry  II.?  In  what  sense  were  the 
men  on  a  sworn  inquest  acting  in  a  representative 
capacity? 

9.  What  was  the  first  instance  of  the  king's  purposing  to  gather 

jurors  from  various  parts  of  the  country  to  one  place? 
What  had  been  the  earlier  method  of  dealing  with  scat- 
tered juries  which  were  to  be  questioned  on  the  same 
matter?  Suggest  some  reasons  for  the  change. 

10.  When  first  did  the  king  summon  a  fixed  number  of  men 

from  each  county  to  a  central  assembly?  For  what 
purpose  did  he  summon  them? 

11.  When  were  popularly -elected   knights   from   each  county 

first  summoned  to  a  central  assembly?  On  what  busi- 
ness were  they  summoned?  Did  they  come  as  repre- 
sentatives? What  arguments  pro  or  con  can  you  make 
on  this  last  point? 

12.  What  was  the  second  instance  of  concentration  of  popu- 

larly-elected  knights  of  the  shire?     Make  a  careful 
comparison  of  these  two  cases  from  the  point  of  view 
36 


Antecedents  of  the  House  of  Commons 

of  the  functions  and  representative  character  of  the 
elected  knights.  Is  there  anything  to  show,  in  either 
case,  before  whom  the  knights  were  expected  to  ap- 


pear? 

13.  How  does  the  knights'  previous  history  account  for  the 

king's  use  of  them  in  these  instances?  Can  you  sug- 
gest any  reason  for  the  measures  known  as  "distraint 
of  knighthood"? 

14.  Of  what  local  representative  assembly  do  you  find  evidence? 

To  just  what  extent  was  it  representative?  Give 
reasons  for  or  against  the  view  that  this  assembly  sug- 
gested the  practice  of  summoning  local  representa- 
tives to  the  center. 

15.  Is  there  any  respect  in  which  the  1261  assembly  represents 

an  advance  over  previous  ones?    The  1264  assembly? 

16.  From  what  sources  may  Simon  de  Montfort  have  received 

suggestions  for  the  new  element  in  his  assembly  of 
1265? 

17.  What  was  done  about  the  counties  which  failed  to  return 

knights  to  this  1265  meeting?  How  does  this  measure 
illustrate  the  undeveloped  state  of  these  practices? 

18.  In  which  instance  is  there  evidence  that  knights  were  paid 

wages  or  expenses  for  representing  their  counties  in  a 
central  assembly? 

19.  In  which  of  the  central  assemblies  does  information  seem 

to  have  been  the  chief  thing  wanted  from  the  local 
representatives?  In  which  was  counsel  wanted? 

20.  In  which  assemblies  is  there  evidence  that  the  local  repre- 

sentatives acted  with,  or  in  any  way  became  a  part  of,  a 
great  council  of  barons?  Is  there  anything  which  shows 
whether  or  not  such  association  was  considered  normal 
or  desirable? 

21.  Where  does  it  seem  to  you  lay  the  responsibility  or  initiative 

in  the  various  practices  which  led  up  to  these  assemblies? 


IV.     The  Sources 

i.  Inquest  of  Sheriffs.  1170.  (Latin  text  in  Stubbs, 
Select  Charters,  ninth  edition,  pp.  175-178. 
Translation  by  the  editor.) 

In  the  first  place  the  barons  shall  require  security 

5  and  pledge  from  all  sheriffs  who  have  been  sheriffs 

since  the  lord  king  last  crossed  into  Normandy,  and 

from  all  who  have  been  bailiffs  or  ministers  of  these 

[sheriffs],  whatever  bailiwick  they  have  held  from 

them;   also  from  all  those  who  since  that  time  have 

10  held  hundreds  of  the  barons  which  they  [the  barons] 

have  in  the  county,  whether  they  have  held  them  at 

firm  or  in  custody; — that  they  will  be  before  the  lord 

king  on  the  day  which  they  [the  barons]  shall  set 

for  them  for  the  purpose  of  doing  right  and  redressing 

is  to  him  and  his  men  what  they  ought  to  redress.  .  .  . 

Afterward  they  [the  barons]  shall  take  oath  from 

all  the  barons  and  knights  and  free_mejnu- of  the 

county  that  they  will  tell  the  truth  concerning  that 

which  shall  be  asked  of  them  on  behalf  of  the  lord 

90  king;    and  that  they  will  not  conceal  the  truth  for 

love  of  any  one  or  for  hatred  or  for  money  or  reward 

or  for  fear  or  promise  or  for  anything  else. 

88 


Antecedents  of  the  House  of  Commons 

[There  follows  here  a  large  number  of  items  of  inquiry 
grouped  in  some  twelve  articles.  They  relate  mainly 
to  the  doings  of  the  sheriffs  and  other  local  officials,  to 
various  sources  of  revenue,  both  royal  and  baronial,  and 

5  the  condition  of  the  royal  demesne.] 
2.  Gesta  Regis  Henrici  Secundi  Benedicti  Abbatis. 
1175.    (Latin  text  from  the  Rolls  Series  edition, 
I,  91,  92.     Translation  by  the  editor.) 
And  so,  the  council  having  ended,  the  lord  king, 

10  and  with  him  the  king  his  son,  took  his  journey  in 
pilgrimage  to  the  blessed  Thomas  of  Canterbury, 
martyr.  And  returning  thence,  they  held  court 
and  royal  festival  on  Whitsunday  at  Reading.  And 
from  there  the  king  sent  with  his  letters  one  of  his 

is  clerks,  Roger  of  Hoveden  by  name,  to  the  church 
of  Norwich  which  was  then  vacant,  its  pastor  having 
died,  and  to  the  vacant  abbeys  throughout  England ; 
notifying  the  prior  and  convent  of  the  vacant  abbeys 
that  the  prior  himself  with  five  or  more  of  the  more 

20  discreet  and  wiser  of  his  house,  who  would  suffice 
for  the  purpose,  were  to  come  to  Oxford  to  meet  him 
and  the  lord  archbishop  of  Canterbury  on  the 
Nativity  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,1  for  the  purpose 
of  electing  the  needed  pastor  for  his  house.  And 

as  he  commanded  that  each  prior  bring  with  him  letters 
of  the  convent  to  the  effect  that  the  others  who  re- 
mained at  home  would  regard  as  valid  whatever  he 
and  those  who  came  with  him  might  do.  Likewise 

1June  24. 

89 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  wrote  to  the  same 
houses  that  the  prior  and  with  him  five  or  more  of 
the  wiser  and  more  discreet,  with  letters  of  the  con- 
vent, as  stated  above,  should  come  to  meet  himself 
s  and  the  lord  king,  to  elect  themselves  a  pastor. 
And  he  sent  Master  Robert  of  Hinglisham,  his  clerk, 
to  the  said  abbeys  with  the  said  king's  clerk.  There 
were  at  that  time  twelve  abbeys  vacant  in  England 
in  the  diocese  of  Canterbury,  whose  names  follow; 
10  and,  besides,  the  bishopric  of  Norwich. 

3.  Assize  of  Arms.     1181.     (Latin  text  in   Stubbs, 

Select  Charters,    ninth    edition,  pp.   183,    184. 

Translation  by  the  editor.) 

1.  Whoever  has  the  fee  of  one  knight  let  him 
is  have  a  coat  of  mail  and  a  helmet,  a  sword  and  a 

lance;  and  let  every  knight  have  as  many  coats  of 
mail  and  helmets,  swords  and  lances,  as  he  has 
knights'  fees  in  his  demesne. 

2.  Any  free  layman  who  has  in  chattels  or  in  in- 
20  come  to  the  value  of  sixteen  marks,  let  him  have  a 

coat  of  mail  and  helmet,  sword  and  lance;  but  any 
free  layman  who  has  ten  marks  in  chattels  or  income 
is  to  have  a  hauberk,  an  iron  headpiece,  and  a  lance. 

3.  Also  all  burgesses  and  the  whole  body  of  free 
as  men  are  to  have  a  doublet  of  mail,  an  iron  head- 
piece, and  a  lance. 

'  9.  And  the  justices  shall  cause  an  oath  to  be  taken 
by  lawful  knights  or  by  as  many  other  free  and  law- 

—90 


Antecedents  of  the  House  of  Commons 

ful  men  of  the  hundreds  and  of  the  boroughs  as  they 
shall  deem  proper  who  have  the  worth  of  chattels 
on  the  basis  of  which  one  ought  to  have  a  coat  of 
mail  and  helmet,  lance  and  sword,  as  stated  above, 
t  they  will  name  to  them  one  after  another  all 
of  their  hundreds  and  of  their  neighborhoods  and 
of  their  boroughs  who  have  sixteen  marks  in  chattels} 
or  in  income,  and  likewise  those  who  have  ten  marks^ ; 
And  afterward  the  justices  shall  cause  a  record  to 

w  be  made  of  all  those  jurors  and  of  the  others  who 
have  that  amount  of  chattels  or  income  and  of  the 
arms  which  they  ought  to  have  according  to  the 
value  of  their  chattels  or  income.  .  .  .  / 

4.  Ordinance   of  the  Saladin    Tithe.     1188.     (Latin 

15  text  in  Stubbs,  Select  Charters,  ninth  edition, 

p.   189.     Translation  by  the  editor.) 

1.  Every  one  shall  this  year  give  in  alms  a  tenth 
of  his  revenue  and  movables,  excepting  the  arms, 
horses,  and  equipment  of  the  knights;    likewise  ex- 

ao  cepting  the  horses,  books,  equipment,  vestments, 
and  all  manner  of  furnishings  for  divine  service  of 
the  clergy,  and  also  the  precious  stones  of  both  clerks 
and  laymen. 

2.  This  money  is  to  be  collected  in  the  several 
25  parishes,  there  being  present  the  parish  priest,  the 

archpriest,  a  Templar,  and  a  Hospitaler,  a  minister 
of  the  lord  king,  and  a  clerk  of  the  king,  a  minister 
of  the  baron  and  the  baron's  clerk,  and  a  clerk  of 
the  bishop;  excommunication  having  been  previ- 
7  9i 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

ously  pronounced  by  archbishops,  bishops,  and  the 
arch-priests  in  the  several  parishes  upon  any  one  who 
should  not  rightfully  give  the  assessed  tenth,  in  the 
presence  and  with  the  knowledge  of  those  who  ought 

5  to  be  there,  as  aforesaid.  And  if,  to  their  knowledge, 
any  one  should  give  less  than  he  ought,  let  there  be 
chosen  from  the  parish  four  or  six  lawful  men,  who 
shall  state  upon  oath  the  amount  which  he  ought  to 
have  declared;  and  then  that  ought  to  be  added  to 

10  his  smaller  payment. 

5.  Form  of  Proceeding  on  the  Judicial  Visitation.    1 194. 
(Latin  text  in  Stubbs,  Select  Charters,  ninth  edi- 
tion, pp.  252-257.     Translation  by  the  editor.) 
In  the  first  place  there  are  to  be  chosen  four 
is  knights  from  the  whole  county,  who  upon  their  oath 
shall  choose  two  lawful  knights  from  each  hundred 
or  wapentake,  and  these  two  shall  choose  upon  their 
oath  ten  knights  from  the  several  hundreds  or  wapen- 
takes;  or,  if  knights  be  lacking,  lawful  and  free  men, 
20  so  that  these  twelve  may  at  the  same  time  make 
answer  upon  all  the  heads  for  the  whole  hundred  or 
wapentake. 

[There  follow  twenty-five  heads  or  articles  showing 
a  great  variety  of  both  judicial  and  general  adminis- 
35  trative  business  upon  which  the  jurors  were  questioned. 
The  twentieth  article  refers  to  coroners,  who  were  prob- 
ably chosen  by  some  form  of  popular  election  in  the 
county  court.] 

92 


Antecedents  of  the  House  of  Commons 

20.  Moreover,  in  each  county  let  there  be  chosen 
three  knights  and  one  clerk  keepers  of  the  pleas  of 
the  crown. 

6.  Summons  of  Juries  to  St.  Albans.     July  21,  1213. 
s  (Latin  text  in  Stubbs,  Select  Charters,  ninth 

edition,  p.  271.     Translation  by  the  editor.) 
On  the  morrow  the  king  sent  letters  to  all  the 
sheriffs  of  the  kingdom  of  England,   commanding 
that  they  should  cause  to  assemble  at  St.  Albans, 
10  on  August  fourth,  four  lawful  men  and  the  reeve 
from  the  several  vills  of  his  demesne,  so  that  through 
them  and  his  other  ministers  he  might  make  inquiry 
concerning  the  damages  and  losses  of  the  individual 
bishops,  and  what  he  owed  each. 

is  7.  Summons  to  a  Great  Council.     November  7,  1213. 
(Latin  text  in   Stubbs,   Select  Charters,   ninth 
edition,  p.  282.     Translation  by  the  editor.) 
The  king  to  the  sheriff  of  Oxford,  greeting.     We 
command  you  that  all  the  knights  of  your  bailiwick, 
20  who  have  been  summoned  to  be  with  us  at  Oxford 
fifteen  days  after  All  Saints'  Day,  you  cause  to  come 
with  their  arms;    likewise  the  barons,  but  without 
arms;   and  you  are  to  cause  to  come  to  us  there  at 
the  same  time  four  discreet  men  of  your  county  to 
as  speak  with  us  about  the  affairs  of  our  kingdom. 
Witness  myself  at  Witney,  the  seventh  day  of  No- 
vember. 

In  the  same  way  it  is  written  to  all  the  sheriffs. 
8.  Magna  Carta.     June  15,  1215.     (Printed  in  full 

93 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

in  the  Appendix,  pp.  380-396.  In  connection 
with  this  problem,  study  especially  articles 
18  and  48.) 

9.  Writ  for  Assembling  the  County  Court  before  the 
s  Itinerant  Justices.     1218.     (Latin  text  in  Rotuli 

Litterarum  Clausarum,  I,  380.  Translation  by 
the  editor.) 

The  king  to  the  sheriff  of  Yorkshire,  greeting. 
Summon  by  good  summoners  all  the  archbishops, 
10  bishops,  abbots,  earls  and  barons,  knights  and  free- 
holders of  your  whole  bailiwick,  and  from  each  vill 
four  lawful  men  and  the  reeve  and  from  each  bor- 
ough twelve  lawful  burgesses  throughout  your  whole 
bailiwick,  and  all  others  of  your  bailiwick  who  are 
is  accustomed  and  ought  to  come  before  the  justices 
itinerant,  that  they  be  at  York  before  our  justices 
fifteen  days  after  St.  Martin's  Day  *  to  hear  and 
obey  our  command.  And  you  are  to  cause  to  come 
before  them  at  that  time  all  pleas  of  the  crown  which 
ao  have  not  been  tried  and  which  have  arisen  since  the 
last  assize  (before  the  justices  itinerant)  was  in  those 
parts  in  the  time  of  King  John  our  father,  and  all 
attachments  pertaining  to  those  pleas,  and  all  assizes 
and  all  pleas  which  have  been  set  for  the  first  assize 
as  before  the  justices,  with  the  writs  of  the  assizes  and 
pleas ;  so  that  not  any  of  those  assizes  and  pleas  may 
remain  unconcluded  because  of  any  fault  of  yours 
or  your  summons.  And  you  are  to  have  proclaimed 

1  November  n. 
94 


Antecedents  of  the  House  of  Commons 

and  made  known  throughout  your  whole  bailiwick 
that  all  assizes  and  all  pleas,  which  have  been  placed 
on  the  docket  and  not  concluded  before  our  justices 
at  Westminster,  are  to  be  then  brought  before  the 
s  said  justices  at  York  in  that  state  in  which  they 
have  remained  at  Westminster  by  our  command. 
Summon  also  by  good  summoners  all  those  who  have 
been  sheriffs  since  the  last  eyre  of  the  justices  in 
those  parts,  that  they  then  be  there  before  the  said 
10  justices  with  the  writs  of  the  assizes  and  pleas  which 
they  received  in  their  time,  and  to  answer  for  their 
time  as  they  ought  to  answer  before  justices  itiner- 
ant; and  you  are  to  have  there  the  summoners  and 
this  writ.  Witness  Earl  William  Marshall,  guard- 
is  ian  of  ourself  and  our  kingdom,1  at  Westminster, 
the  fourth  day  of  November.  Before  Stephen  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  and  Peter  bishop  of  Winchester 
and  the  bishop  of  Durham. 

In  the  same  way  it  is  written  to  all  the  sheriffs  of 

ao  England    except    those    of    Gloucester,    Worcester, 

Hereford,    Stafford   and   Shropshire,    Leicester  and 

Warwick,  and  Surrey;    but  the  place  varies  as  is 

shown  on  the  dorse  of  the  letters  patent. 

10.  Writ  for   the   Collection   of  a   Carucage.     1220. 

as  (Latin  text  in  Stubbs,  Select  Charters,  ninth 

edition,  p.  349.     Translation  by  the  editor.) 

The  king  to  the  sheriff  of  Northampton,  greeting. 

Know  that,  because  of  our  great  necessity  and  at 

1  Henry  III.  was  but  eleven  years  old. 
95 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

the  most  urgent  instance  of  our  creditors,  as  also 
for  the  preservation  of  our  land  of  Poitou,  all  the 
magnates  and  faithful  of  our  whole  kingdom  have 
of  their  good  will  given  their  common  consent  that 

s  a  grant  be  made  us,  viz.,  from  each  plough  as  it 
was  joined  on  the  morrow  of  the  Blessed  John  the 
Baptist  last  past,  in  the  fourth  year  of  our  reign, 
two  shillings,  to  be  collected  by  your  hand  and  the 
hands  of  two  of  the  more  lawful  knights  of  your 

10  county,  who  are  to  be  elected  to  do  this  by  the  will 
and  counsel  of  all  of  the  county  in  full  county  court. 
And  so  we  command  you,  firmly  and  strictly  enjoin- 
ing that,  having  summoned  your  full  county  court, 
by  the  will  and  counsel  of  those  of  the  county  court 

is  you  cause  to  be  elected  two  of  the  more  lawful 
knights  of  the  whole  county,  who  shall  better  know, 
wish,  and  be  able  to  prosecute  this  business  to  our 
advantage;  and  having  associated  them  with  you, 
you  are  immediately  to  cause  that  grant  to  be  as- 

20  sessed  and  collected  from  the  several  ploughs  through 
your  whole  bailiwick,  as  aforesaid,  excepting  the 
demesne  of  archbishops,  bishops,  and  their  villeins, 
and  excepting  the  demesne  of  the  Cistercian  and 
Premonstratensian  orders.  .  .  . 

as  11.  Distraint  of  Knighthood.  1224.  (Latin  text  in 
Rotuli  Litterarum  Clausarum,  II,  69.  Trans- 
lation by  the  editor.) 

The  king  to  the  sheriff  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk, 
greeting.     We  command  you   that   without   delay 

96 


Antecedents  of  the  House  of  Commons 

you  cause  it  to  be  proclaimed  throughout  your  whole 
bailiwick  that  every  layman  of  full  age  who  holds 
the  fief  of  one  knight  or  more  in  your  bailiwick  and 
is  not  a  knight  shall,  before  the  Sunday  following 

s  Easter  in  the  ninth  year  [of  our  reign],  assume  arms 
and  have  himself  made  knight,  as  he  loves  the  fief 
or  fiefs  which  he  holds.  Witness  as  above.  [The 
king  at  Westminster,  i6th  November.] 

In  the  same  way  it  is  written  to  all  the  sheriffs. 

10  12.  Writ  Summoning    Four    Knights  of   the    Shire. 
1227.     (Latin  text  in  Rotuli  Litterarum  Clau- 
sarum,  II,  212,  213.     Translation  by  the  edi- 
tor.) 
The  king  to  the  sheriff  of  Cumberland,  greeting. 

is  We  command  you  that  in  your  full  county  court  you 
say  to  the  knights  and  good  men  of  your  bailiwick 
that  they  elect  from  among  themselves  four  of  the 
more  lawful  and  discreet  knights,  who  are  to  be 
before  us  at  Westminster,  three  weeks  after  the  feast 

30  of  St.  Michael,  for  the  whole  county,  for  the  purpose 
of  there  showing  the  complaint,  if  they  have  any, 
against  you  in  regard  to  the  articles  contained  in 
the  charter  of  liberties  granted  to  them;  and  you 
yourself  are  then  to  be  there  to  show  reason  for  the 

as  demand  which  you  make  against  them.  .  .  .  And 
you  are  to  have  there  the  summoners  and  the  names 
of  the  knights  .  .  .  and  this  writ.  Witness  the  king 
at  Northampton,  the  thirteenth  day  of  August,  the 
eleventh  year,  etc. 

97 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

[There  appear  on  the  roll  the  names  of  thirty-five 
counties  to  which  this  writ  was  sent.] l 

13.  Writ  Summoning  Representatives  of  Seven  Bor- 

oughs.   1235.    (Latin  text  in  Close  Rolls,  1234- 
s  1237,  p.  161.     Translation  by  the  editor.) 

The  king  to  his  bailiffs  of  the  port  of  Dover, 
greeting.  We  command  you,  firmly  enjoining  that 
you  cause  twelve  of  the  better  men  of  your  town 
to  come  before  us  at  Dover  on  the  Sunday  next 
10  after  the  coming  feast  of  the  Purification  of  the 
Blessed  Mary,  for  the  purpose  of  speaking  with  us 
concerning  our  affairs.  Witness  the  king  at  West- 
minster, the  twenty-fifth  day  of  January. 

In  the  same  way  it  was  commanded  the  bailiffs 
is  of  the  ports  of  Hythe,  Sandwich,  and  Hastings  con- 
cerning the  sending  of  six  there;   Romney,  Rye,  and 
Winchelsea  concerning  eighteen.2 

14.  Writ    Summoning    Two    Knights    of   the    Shire. 

1254.     (Latin  text  in  Stubbs,  Select  Charters, 
*>  ninth  edition,  pp.  365,  366.     Translation  by 

the   editor.) 

Form  sent  to  the  magnates  and  sheriffs  of  England. 
The  king  to  the  sheriff  of  Bedford  and  Bucking- 

1  There  were  thirty  -  seven  counties  at  this  time.     The  names 
as  omitted  on  the  roll  were  Westmoreland  and  Cornwall;    yet  West- 
moreland was  to  have  been  represented  at  a  meeting  of  eight  counties 
called  for  this  same  business  the  year  before.      The  omission  of 
two  names  on  the  roll  was  probably  due  to  a  scribe's  carelessness. 

1  It  is  not  clear  whether  Hythe,  Sandwich,  and  Hastings  were  to 
30  send  six  each  or  six  together;   and  Romney,  Rye,  and  Winchelsea 
eighteen  each  or  eighteen  together. 

98 


Antecedents  of  the  House  of  Commons 

ham,  greeting.  Since  the  earls  and  barons  and  other 
magnates  of  our  kingdom  have  steadfastly  promised 
us  that  they  will  be  at  London  three  weeks  from 
Easter  next,  prepared  with  horses  and  arms  and  well 

s  equipped  to  proceed  without  delay  to  Portsmouth, 
for  the  purpose  of  crossing  to  us  in  Gascony  to  op- 
pose the  king  of  Castile,  who  is  to  make  a  hostile 
incursion  into  our  land  of  Gascony  with  a  strong 
force  during  the  coming  summer;  and  since  we  have 

10  commanded  you  to  constrain  to  the  same  purpose 
all  those  of  your  bailiwick  who  hold  from  us  in  chief 
land  worth  twenty  pounds  a  year,  or  those  who 
hold  from  others  who  are  under  age  and  in  our 
custody;  we  strictly  command  you  that,  besides 

15  all  the  aforesaid,  you  cause  to  come  before  our 
council  at  Westminster  fifteen  days  after  Easter 
next,  four  lawful  and  discreet  knights  from  the  said 
counties  whom  the  said  counties  shall  elect  for  this 
purpose,  for  all  and  singular  of  the  said  counties, 

20  that  is,  two  from  the  one  county  and  two  from  the 
other,  so  that,  together  with  the  knights  of  the  other 
counties  whom  we  have  caused  to  be  summoned  for 
the  same  day,  they  may  arrange  what  kind  of  aid 
they  wish  to  furnish  us  in  so  great  need.  And  you 

as  yourself  are  diligently  to  set  forth  to  the  knights 
and  others  of  the  said  counties  our  necessity  and 
our  so  urgent  business,  and  you  are  effectively  to  in- 
duce them  to  furnish  us  an  adequate  aid  at  the 
present  time;  so  that  the  aforesaid  four  knights 

99 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

can,  at  the  time  stated,  answer  definitely  to  our  said 
council  about  the  said  aid  for  each  of  the  said 
counties.  Moreover,  we  straitly  command  you  that 
all  the  previous  debts  in  your  bailiwick  which  ought 
s  to  have  been  paid  us  at  our  exchequer  before  the 
present  Easter,  as  well  as  those  which  are  owing 
us  at  this  Easter  exchequer,  you  are  to  have  at  the 
exchequer  fifteen  days  after  said  Easter;  and  you 
are  to  know  that  unless  you  have  the  said  debts 

»o  there  at  that  time,  we  shall  not  only  cause  your 
body  to  be  seized,  but  we  shall  have  those  debts 
levied  from  your  lands  and  holdings  to  your  no  small 
damage.  Witness  Alienor  Queen  and  Richard  Earl 
of  Cornwall,  at  Windsor,  the  eleventh  day  of  Feb- 

ts  ruary. 

15.  Writ  Summoning  Three  Knights  of  the  Shire. 
1261.  (Latin  text  in  Stubbs,  Select  Charters, 
ninth  edition,  pp.  394,  395.  Translation  by 
the  editor.) 

«o  The  king  to  the  sheriff  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk, 
greeting.  Inasmuch  as  on  the  authority  of  the  bis- 
hop of  Worcester,  the  earls  of  Leicester  and  Glou- 
cester, and  certain  other  magnates  of  our  kingdom, 
three  knights  from  each  of  our  counties  have  been 

•9  summoned  to  be  before  them  at  St.  Albans  at  the 
coming  feast  of  St.  Matthew  the  Apostle,  to  treat 
with  them  concerning  the  common  interests  of  our 
kingdom;  fend  since  we  and  our  aforesaid  magnates 
should  meet  the  same  day  at  Windsor  to  treat  of 

100 


Antecedents  of  the  House  of  Commons 

peace  between  us  and  them;  we  command  you  that, 
on  our  behalf,  you  firmly  enjoin  upon  those  knights 
of  your  bailiwick,  who  have  been  called  before  them 
for  the  aforesaid  day,  that,  every  excuse  set  aside, 

s  they  come  to  us  at  Windsor  on  that  day;  and  you 
are  also  strictly  to  forbid  them  to  go  anywhere  on 
that  day  except  to  us;  indeed,  you  are  to  use  every 
means  to  make  them  come  before  us  at  that  time, 
to  have  a  conference  with  us  on  the  said  matters  y 

10  so  that,  as  a  result  of  this  occasion,  they  may  see 
and  understand  that  we  are  not  proposing  to  under- 
take anything  except  what  we  know  will  redound 
to  the  honor  and  commonweal  of  our  kingdom. 
Witness  the  king  at  Windsor,  the  eleventh  day  of 

15  September. 

1 6.  Writ  Summoning  Four  Knights  of  the  Shire. 
1364.  (Latin  text  in  Stubbs,  Select  Charters, 
ninth  edition,  pp.  399,  400.  Translation  by 
the  editor.) 

20  The  king  to  Adam  of  Newmarket,  greeting.  .  .  . 
And  because  in  our  coming  parliament  it  is  fitting 
and  necessary  to  discuss  our  affairs  and  the  affairs 
of  our  kingdom  with  the  prelates,  magnates,  and 
others  of  our  faithful,  we  command  you  to  send  to 

as  us  for  that  whole  county  [Lincoln]  four  of  the  more 
lawful  and  discreet  knights  of  said  county,  chosen 
with  the  county's  assent;  so  that  they  be  with  us 
at  London  on  the  octave  of  the  coming  feast  of  the 
Holy  Trinity  at  the  latest,  to  treat  with  us  of  the 

101 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

aforesaid   matters;    .   .   .  Witness   the   king  at    St. 
Paul's,  London,  the  fourth  day  of  June. 

[Twenty-eight  other  counties  are  named  on  the  roll 
as  receiving  similar  writs.} 

517.  Writs  Relating  to  the  Assembly  of  January,  }?6^. 

(Latin  text  in  Report  on  the  Dignity  of  a  Peer, 

Appendix  I,  part  i,  pp.  33-35.     Translation 

by  the  editor.) 

a.  Henry,  by  the  grace  of  God,  king  of  England, 

io  lord  of  Ireland,  and  duke  of  Aquitaine,  to  Robert 
the  venerable  father  in  Christ,  by  the  same  grace 
bishop  of  Durham,  greeting.  Since,  after  the  grave 
crises  of  the  recent  disturbances  in  our  kingdom, 
our  dearest  son  Edward,  our  first  born,  has  remained 

is  a  hostage  for  securing  and  establishing  our  king- 
dom's peace,  and  since,  God  be  praised,  these  dis- 
turbances have  now  been  allayed  and  it  behooves 
us  to  take  counsel  looking  to  his  happy  liberation, 
the  full  establishment  of  the  conditions  of  peace  and 

20  quiet,  to  God's  honor  and  our  whole  kingdom's 
welfare,  and  certain  other  business  of  our  kingdom, 
all  of  which  we  are  unwilling  to  undertake  without 
your  advice  and  that  of  our  other  prelates  and  mag- 
nates; we  notify  you,  making  request  on  the  grounds 

as  of  the  faith  and  love  by  which  you  are  bound  to  us 
that,  setting  aside  every  excuse  and  leaving  all 
other  business,  you  be  with  us  at  London  on  the 
octave  of  St.  Hilary1  next  to  treat  with  us  of  these 

1  The  feast  of  St.  Hilary  was  January  13. 

102 


Antecedents  of  the  House  of  Commons 

affairs  and  to  furnish  your  counsel,  along  with  our 
said  prelates  and  magnates  whom  we  have  caused 
to  be  summoned  to  the  same  place.  And  this  you 
are  in  no  wise  to  neglect,  as  you  love  us  and  our  honor 

s  and  yours  and  the  general  peace  of  our  kingdom. 
Witness  the  king  at  Worcester,  the  fourteenth  day 
of  December. 

["The  same  writ  was  addressed  to  the  Archbishop 
of  York,  the  Bishop  of  Carlisle,  the  Dean  of  York, 

10  ten  abbots  and  nine  priors  of  the  northern  province, 
and  to  ten  bishops  and  four  deans  of  the  southern. 
A  similar  one  was  issued  at  Woodstock  on  the  24th 
of  December,  to  fifty-five  abbots,  twenty-six  priors, 
the  Master  of  the  Temple,  and  the  Prior  of  the  Hos- 

13  pitalers;   also  to  five  earls  and  eighteen  barons."] l 

Also  notification  was  sent  to  the  several  sheriffs 

throughout  England  that  they  cause  two  knights  of 

tjje  more  lawful,   upright,   and  discreet  knights  of 

the  several  counties  to  come  to  the  king  at  London 

ao  on  the  said  octave  according  to  the  above  form. 

And  in  the  above  form  it  is  written  to  the  citizens 
of  York,  the  citizens  of  Lincoln,  and  to  the  other 
boroughs  of  England  that  they  send  in  the  said  way 
two  of  the  more  discreet,  lawful,  and  upright  of  their 

as  citizens  or  burgesses. 

And  in  the  same  form  notification  was  sent  to  the 

1  This  is  Stubbs's  summary,  Select  Charters,  p.  403.  On  the  26th 
of  December  a  similar  summons  was  sent  to  the  bishop  of  Norwich, 
Report  on  the  Dignity  of  a  Peer,  App.  I,  pt.  i,  p.  35. 

103 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

barons  and  good  men  of  the  Cinque  Ports  as  is  con- 
tained in  the  writ  enrolled  below. 

b.  The  king  to  his  barons  and  bailiffs  of  his  port 
of  Sandwich,  greeting.     Since  we  have  caused  to  be 

5  summoned  the  prelates,  magnates,  and  nobles  of  our 
kingdom  to  our  approaching  parliament  which  will 
be  at  London  on  the  octave  of  St.  Hilary,  to  consider 
the  business  of  freeing  our  eldest  son  Edward  and 
other  matters  touching  the  commonweal  of  our  king- 

10  dom — where  we  greatly  need  your  presence  as  well 
as  that  of  our  other  faithful — we  command  you  in 
the  faith  and  love  by  which  you  are  bound  to  us, 
strictly  enjoining  that,  setting  aside  all  other  things, 
you  send  to  us  there  four  of  the  more  lawful  and  dis- 

15  creet  of  your  port,  so  that  they  be  there  on  the  afore- 
said octave  to  treat  with  us  and  the  said  magnates 
of  our  kingdom,  and  to  furnish  counsel  upon  the 
matters  stated.  And  see  that  you  in  no  wise  fail 
to  do  this  as  you  love  our  honor  and  yours  and  the 

ao  commonweal  of  our  kingdom.  Witness  the  king  at 
Westminster,  the  twentieth  day  of  January. 

Similar  notification  was  sent  to  the  several  ports 
individually. 

c.  The  king  to  the  sheriff  of  Yorkshire,  greeting. 
as  Inasmuch  as  we  have  recently  had  summoned  two 

of  the  more  discreet  knights  of  our  several  counties 
of  England  to  be  with  us  in  our  parliament  at  Lon- 
don on  the  octave  of  St.  Hilary  last  past,  to  discuss 
with  us  and  with  our  council  about  the  deliverance 

104 


Antecedents  of  the  House  of  Commons 

of  our  dearest  son  Edward  and  obtaining  security 
for  it  and  also  about  other  difficult  business  of  our 
realm,  and  these  same  knights  made  a  longer  stay 
there  than  they  had  expected  and  hence  were  sub- 

s  jected  to  no  small  expense;  and  since  the  communi- 
ties of  the  said  counties  have  several  times  during 
this  year  made  grants  for  the  defense  of  our  king- 
dom and  especially  for  guarding  the  coast  against 
the  incursion  of  foreigners,  as  a  result  of  which  they 

10  feel  themselves  somewhat  too  heavily  burdened; 
we  therefore  command  you  that  you  pay  to  the 
two  knights  who  attended  the  above-mentioned 
parliament  for  the  said  county  their  reasonable  ex- 
penses (on  the  advice  of  four  lawful  knights  of  the 

is  same  county)  in  coming  to  said  parliament,  remain- 
ing there,  and  returning  home  thence,  and  that  you 
levy  these  expenses  on  the  said  community,  it  being 
provided  because  of  this  grant  that  this  community 
shall  not  in  any  way  be  further  burdened.  Witness 

20  the  king,  at  Westminster,  the  fifteenth  day  of  Feb- 
ruary. 

d.  The  king  to  the  sheriff  of  Shropshire  and  Staf- 
fordshire, greeting.  Inasmuch  as  we  have  recently 
had  summoned  the  prelates,  magnates,  and  nobles  of 

25  our  kingdom  to  be  with  us  at  London  fifteen  days 
after  the  feast  of  St.  Hilary  last  past,  in  the  matter 
of  the  liberation  of  our  eldest  son  Edward  and  ob- 
taining security  for  it  and  for  other  matters  touching 
the  community  of  our  kingdom  and  to  treat  with  us 

105 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

of  the  same,  and  we  commanded  you,  as  we  did  our 
other  sheriffs  throughout  England,  that  you  cause 
to  come  to  us  from  each  of  the  said  counties  for  the 
said  day  and  place  two  of  the  more  discreet  and  law- 

5  ful  knights  of  the  same  counties,  to  treat  with  us 
and  the  said  magnates  on  behalf  of  the  community 
of  those  counties  concerning  the  matters  mentioned 
above  and  to  furnish  their  advice;  and  since  from 
the  said  districts  no  knights  came  there  at  our  com- 

IP  mand,  at  which  we  are  greatly  surprised  and  moved, 
we  command  you  a  second  time  strictly  enjoining 
that  you  cause  the  said  knights  to  come  to  us,  so 
that  by  all  means  they  be  with  us  fifteen  days  after 
the  feast  of  St.  Peter  in  Cathedra,1  wherever  we  may 

is  then  be  in  England,  to  speak  with  us  and  with  the 
magnates  who  are  of  our  council  about  the  afore- 
said matters.  And  you  are  so  to  conduct  yourself 
in  executing  our  command  that  we  shall  be  under 
no  necessity  of  dealing  with  you  for  your  short- 

90  coming.  Witness  the  king  at  Westminster,  the 
23rd  of  February. 

1  This  feast  was  February  22. 


PROBLEM  IV 

IV. — An    Aspect   of   the   Agricultural    Labor 
Problem   in   the    Fourteenth   Century 


An  Aspect  of   the  Agricultural   Labor 
Problem  in  the  Fourteenth  Century 

I.   THE   HISTORICAL   SETTING   OF   THE    PROBLEM 


BELOW  knight  and  freeholder  was  the  villein,  the 
typical  member  of  the  English  peasant  class.  In 
the  half  or  three-quarters  of  a  century  following  the  Nor- 
man Conquest,  and  largely  as  a  result  of  it,  rightlessness 
of  the  thoroughgoing  personal  sort  and  most  of  the  forms 
of  household  slavery  came  to  an  end.  But  predial  serf- 
dom remained.  This  means  the  serfdom  related  to  land 
tenure.  The  villein  was  not  free  to  leave  his  land,  and 
his  payments  to  the  lord  were  from  the  land  or  in  the 
form  of  service  on  the  lord's  demesne  land.  The  free- 
holder made  such  payments  also,  but  they  were  less  bur- 
densome in  his  case,  were  more  fixed  in  quantity  and  in 
time  and  manner  of  payment.  The  villein,  notwith- 
standing the  protection  which  accrued  to  him  from  the 
restraint  of  manorial  custom  and  precedent,  was  always 
more  or  less  at  his  lord's  disposal.  But  the  most  striking 
trait  of  English  villeinage  and  that  which  looked  straight 
toward  freedom  was  its  relative  character.  The  villein 
was  free  toward  all  but  his  lord.  And  when  the  king, 
through  his  itinerant  justices,  his  sheriffs,  and  his  other 
means  of  local  interference,  began  to  touch  the  localities 
with  his  centralizing  power  and  methods,  and  the  great 

109 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

system  of  king's  courts  began  to  grow,  he  was  generally 
disposed  to  look  at  the  villein  on  the  free  side.  Here  also 
the  sworn  inquest  played  no  small  part  of  its  mighty  r61e 
in  the  history  of  democracy.  Villeins  were  placed  on 
juries  whenever  the  king  sought  information  which  they 
could  best  furnish;  and,  although  they  were  not  asso- 
ciated with  those  above  them  as  the  freeholder  was  asso- 
ciated with  the  knight,  yet  jury  service  often  occasioned 
strange  approximations  of  high  and  low,  and  it  must  be 
remembered  that  those  great,  complex  grand  juries  of  the 
hundred,  which  presented  criminals,  while  not  acting  as 
a  unit,  did  regularly  contain  knights  or  freeholders,  and 
villeins.  But  the  basic  causes  of  the  passing  of  villein- 
age must  be  sought  in  changing  economic  conditions. 
The  central  government's  treatment  of  the  villein  was  a 
contributory  cause. 

The  villeins  were  the  chief  element  on  the  manor,  and 
the  manor  was,  after  the  Norman  Conquest  as  for  long 
before,  the  economic  unit.  Its  grand  foundational  idea 
was  that  its  lord  owned  the  land,  a  liberal  portion  of  which 
was  his  demesne  cultivated  directly  for  him,  while  the 
rest  was  held  by  tenants  who  paid  for  its  use  by  working 
on  the  demesne  and  by  making  payments  in  money  or 
kind.  The  manor  was  economically  self-sufficient.  Salt 
and  iron  were  the  only  important  things  regularly  ob- 
tained outside.  The  typical  manor  contained  some  free- 
holders, many  villeins,  whose  tenure  was  normally  the 
virgate  of  thirty  acres,  and  often  some  more  or  less 
negligible  remnants  of  ancient  classes  or  sub-classes 
farther  down  in  the  economic  and  social  scale.  Money 
was  not  extensively  used  in  rural  England  in  the  early 
Middle  Ages.  Some  money  transactions  there  were:  the 
bailiffs  sold  some  produce  at  the  markets,  and  the  manor's 
salt  and  iron  were  bought  with  money;  the  freeholders' 

no 


Fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

rents  were  often  paid  wholly  or  partly  in  money,  and 
even  the  villeins  occasionally  had  money  dealings  with 
their  lords.  But  the  early  medieval  rule  was  land  in 
exchange  for  labor,  and  labor  (or  the  land's  products)  in 
exchange  for  land.  As  long  as  this  held  even  approxi- 
mately, labor  would  not  be  migratory.  A  villein  thought 
long  before  he  left  even  a  very  hard  lot,  because  his  chances 
of  finding  another  holding  open  to  him — normally  the 
only  thing  he  could  get  for  his  labor — were  slender.  He 
did  sometimes  find  safe  harborage  in  the  towns,  and  that 
with  growing  frequency  during  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth 
centuries;  and  in  this  way  the  slowly  increasing  popula- 
tion, but  slightly  provided  for  by  subdivided  holdings  and 
the  cultivation  of  new  lands,  found  vent.  But  in  general 
the  fugitive  villein  ran  great  chances  of  becoming  a  vaga- 
bond, often  a  criminal,  and  the  medieval  vagabond  was 
subject  to  the  worst  suspicions  and  to  harsh  treatment. 
So  villeins  lived  generation  after  generation  on  the  same 
bit  of  land,  in  the  same  poor  dwelling,  fulfilling  the  cus- 
tom of  the  manor  in  rent  and  "works,"  l  custom  that  had 
formed  and  hardened  through  infinitesimal  accretions 
from  a  forgotten  past  until,  in  endless  stagnation  and  in- 
breeding, it  had  reached  a  local,  self-important  pettiness 
and  deadness  to  new  influences  that  are  beyond  belief. 

The  chief  agent  in  wrenching  the  manor  from  its  past, 
and  in  mobilizing  its  elements,  was  money  as  a  medium 
of  exchange,  the  advent  of  the  money  economy ;  and  this 
advent,  like  so  many  other  things  new  and  wonderful  in 
the  Middle  Ages,  is  largely  to  be  identified  with  the  thir- 
teenth century.  The  long  peace  since  the  Norman  Con- 
quest and  the  closer  relations  with  France  and  Flanders 
had  done  their  work  in  building  up  trade  and  industry. 

1 A  "work"  is  usually  understood  to  mean  that  portion  of  the  cus- 
tomary labor  owed  by  the  tenant  which  was  rendered  in  a  single  day. 

in 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

Trade  and  industry  brought  money  to  the  ports  and  the 
larger  inland  towns;  and  from  these  it  passed  down  rather 
promptly  into  the  manorial  relations.  Indeed,  it  is  now 
recognized  that  past  writers  have  assumed  a  greater  dif- 
ference between  urban  and  rural  communities  in  the 
matter  of  a  money  economy  than  really  existed.1  As  soon 
as  lords  and  villeins  could,  on  any  considerable  scale, 
market  their  surplus  produce  for  cash,  there  was  intro- 
duced a  factor  into  the  rural  economy  which  worked  in 
several  reciprocal  directions.  The  lord  began  to  have  a 
supply  of  money  with  which  he  could  hire  labor,  assuming 
there  was  labor  to  be  hired;  that  is,  assuming  a  free  and 
floating  laboring  class ;  and  this  same  source  of  cash  made 
it  possible  for  thrifty  villeins  to  buy  themselves  free  and 
create  such  a  class.  Also  the  villeins,  whether  or  not  on 
the  road  to  manumission,  increasingly  "bought  their 
works,"2  and  thereby  augmented  at  once  the  lord's  need 
of  labor  and  his  means  of  hiring  it.  And  besides  transient 
labor,  often  before  there  was  much  of  it,  many  manors 
had  several  permanent  hired  laborers  (ploughmen  and 
carters,  for  instance)  who  might,  indeed,  be  serfs  as  well 
as  freemen.3  But,  speaking  broadly,  hired  labor  meant 

1  Some  significant  conclusions  on  this  and  related  matters  have 
been  reached  by  H.  L.  Gray  in  The  Commutation  of  Villein  Sennces 
in  England  before  the  Black  Death.  English  Historical  Review,  XXIX 
(1914),  pp.  625-656. 

*  That  is,  commuted  part  or  all  of  their  customary  labor  services 
into  a  money  payment.  By  doing  this  the  villeins  gained  more 
time  to  work  their  own  holdings  profitably.  Sometimes  such  com- 
mutations were  at  the  lord's  initiative  and  for  a  time  increased  the 
villeins'  burden.  Sickness  or  weather  not  seldom  cut  down  the 
number  of  "works"  which  a  villein  rendered  in  a  year,  but  neither 
sickness  nor  weather  diminished  the  money  payment  which  now 
represented  those  "works." 

1  In  general,  team-service  ceased  to  be  performed  by  the  villein 
tenants  before  hand-service. 

112 


Fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

free  labor,  and  to  change  a  labor  rent  into  a  money  rent 
was  to  make  labor  free.  The  leaven  was  working  in  the 
English  peasantry  and  perfectly  natural  processes  were 
inaugurating  the  next  great  change.  The  Norman  Con- 
quest set  in  operation  forces  which  ended  slavery.  These 
later  causes  undermined  the  characteristic  villeinage  of 
the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries.  In  the  fourteenth 
and  fifteenth  centuries  a  new  state  of  society  was  brought 
forth  and  there  were  very  serious  new  problems. 


II.    INTRODUCTIONS   TO   THE    SOURCES 

i.  Cartularium  Monasterii  de  Ramseia. 

This  Cartulary  of  Ramsey  Abbey  was,  as  the  word 
Cartulary  indicates,  the  record-book  of  the  abbey.  It 
"contains  charters,  inquisitions,  manorial  extents,1  sur- 
veys of  knights'  fees,  final  concords,  pleas  in  royal  courts, 
etc.,  A.D.  974-1436."  The  excerpt  here  printed  is  from 
the  inquest  made  in  1252  concerning  the  abbey's  manors 
of  Upwood  and  Great  Raveley.  In  this  inquest  the 
traditional  manorial  group  of  four  men  and  the  reeve 
was  put  on  oath  and  made  to  tell  all  it  knew  of  the 
abbey's  lands  and  tenants  in  the  manor.  We  read  of 

1  Extent  and  inquisition,  in  this  connection,  are  different  terms 
for  the  same  thing.  It  was  a  sort  of  periodic  taking  account  of 
stock  on  the  part  of  the  lord;  detailed  information  was  collected, 
usually  by  means  of  the  sworn  inquest,  about  tenants,  tenures,  ser- 
vices, and  such  sundry  and  incidental  information  as  seemed  im- 
portant or  interesting.  Generally  the  steward  conducted  the  in- 
quest and  drew  up  the  information  collected  in  formal  shape.  It 
was  also  customary  to  make  an  extent  whenever  the  manor  changed 
hands.  It  is  to  be  distinguished  from  the  less  elaborate  compotus 
roll  and  custumal,  the  former  being  the  bailiff's  yearly  financial  state- 
ment to  the  lord,  and  the  latter  a  record  of  the  amount  of  land  held 
by  each  tenant  and  the  services. 

"3 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

the  manor's  chapel,  its  vicar  and  his  revenues,  a  detailed 
enumeration  of  the  abbey's  demesne  in  Upwood;  a  sum- 
mary of  the  lands  outside  the  demesne;  an  account  of  the 
freeholders'  tenures  and  services,  followed  by  those  of  the 
regular  virgate-holding  villeins,  of  whom  Nicholas  (the 
description  of  whose  services  constitutes  the  present  ex- 
cerpt) is  the  type  and  example;  and,  after  the  virgate- 
holders,  the  various  lesser  holders  with  their  fractions  of 
virgates  and  corresponding  services.  The  noted  Bene- 
dictine monastery  of  Ramsey  and  its  extensive  lands  were 
located  in  the  fen  country  of  northern  Huntingdonshire. 

2.  The  Extent  of  the  Manor  of  Borley  is  a  similar  docu- 
ment for  a  much  later  date,  based  upon  the  sworn  state- 
ments of  the  reeve  and  (in  this  case)  five  men  of  the  manor. 
It  is  an  unusually  complete  extent,  and  the  excerpts  here 
given  show  the  services  and  obligations  of  the  different 
classes  or  groups  of  tenants.     Borley,  at  this  time  a  royal 
manor,  was  located  in  Essex. 

3.  Typical  Lists  of  Manorial  Services. 

It  will  readily  be  seen  that  these  lists  are  not  them- 
selves original  documents.  They  are  summaries  made 
up  by  a  recent  writer,  from  bailiffs'  accounts.  But  being 
largely  lists  of  figures  and  accurately  compiled,  they  may 
properly  be  used  here  as  source  material.  Bailiffs'  ac- 
counts (more  technically  known  as  compotus  rolls)  were 
usually  rendered  annually  and  contained  a  record  of  all 
the  manorial  receipts  and  expenditures,  hence  full  in- 
formation on  commuted  "works"  and  hired  labor;  also 
a  good  many  other  data,  such  as  the  amount  of  land  under 
tillage  each  year,  who  were  the  manor's  officials,  the  regu- 
lar hired  laborers,  etc.  These  accounts  were  rendered 
to  the  steward,  who  must  see  that  the  interests  of  the 
lord  were  safeguarded.  The  manors  whose  accounts  are 
here  summarized  were  all  in  the  county  of  Hertford. 

114 


Fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

4  and  5.  Henry  Knighton,  whose  chronicle  gives  an 
important  account  of  the  Black  Death,1  was  a  canon  of 
St.  Mary's  Abbey  in  Leicestershire.  The  chronicle  covers 
from  959  to  1366.  To  1336  it  is  largely  derived  from  other 
chronicles.  From  that  point  it  is  approximately  con- 
temporaneous and  probably  original;  for  the  years  1348 
and  1349,  J.  R.  Lumby  (the  editor  of  the  Rolls  Series 
edition)  remarks  that  "Knighton  is  largely  an  independ- 
ent authority." 

The  king's  writ  in  behalf  of  John  de  Paddebury  is  a 
typical  bit  of  evidence  on  the  severity  of  the  Plague  from 
a  public  document. 

6  and  7.  The  Ordinance  of  Laborers — the  product,  as 
its  name  indicates,  of  king  and  council  —  was  an  emer- 
gency proclamation  issued  between  parliaments.  In  this 
reign,  notable  for  almost  annual  sessions,  the  frightful 

1  It  should  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  Black  Death,  while  worse 
than  other  plagues,  was  no  isolated  visitation.  "Pestilence  had 
appeared  in  1315,  1316,  and  1340,  and  dearth  had  ruled  from  1308 
to  1322,  with  the  sole  exceptions  of  the  years  1311-13  and  1318-20. 
But  the  horrors  of  these  times  were  thrown  into  the  background  by 
the  Black  Death,  which  in  1348  and  1349  devastated  the  country 
and  left  only  about  half  the  population  living.  A  new  outbreak  of 
plague  came  in  1361-62,  and  the  male  sex  and  the  upper  classes  more 
especially  were  swept  off  by  it,  though,  the  population  being  so  much 
smaller,  the  absolute  number  of  deaths  was  less.  With  it  came  a 
terrible  cattle-plague,  and  the  same  was  the  case  with  the  third 
outbreak,  which  lasted  from  1368  to  1369.  New  epidemics  raged  in 
1370  and  1381-82,  again  accompanied  by  dearth  and  cattle-plague; 
and  these  were  followed  by  yet  others  in  the  last  decade  of  the 
fourteenth  century  and  throughout  the  fifteenth." — Hasbach,  A 
History  of  the  English  Agricultural  Laborer,  pp.  20-21. 

The  population  of  England  was  not  far  from  two  millions  at  the 
Conquest.  It  had  increased  very  considerably  by  the  beginning  of 
Edward  III.'s  reign;  but  the  Black  Death  and  other  epidemics  and 
the  wars  so  far  cut  it  down  that  even  at  the  Tudor  accession  in  1485 
it  was  scarcely  two  and  a  half  millions. 

IIS 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

calamity  of  the  Black  Death  sufficed  to  cause  an  interval 
during  1349  and  1350.  A  parliament  summoned  for 
January  of  the  former  year  was  prorogued  to  April,  and 
then  prorogued  sine  die,  it  being  impossible,  under  the 
circumstances,  to  assemble  and  transact  business.  The 
first  parliament  after  the  plague  met  February  9,  1351, 
and  took  up  the  same  labor  problem  with  which  the 
Ordinance  had  dealt,  but  after  an  interval  which  may  well 
have  served  to  bring  out  features  which  could  not  have 
been  taken  into  account  earlier.  The  result  was  the 
Statute  of  Laborers.  These  two  great  labor  laws  were 
looked  upon  as  substantially  co-ordinate  and  of  equal 
legal  sanction  in  all  the  attempts  to  enforce  them  through- 
out the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries. 

Such  legislation  was  not  new  in  kind;  the  economic 
thought  of  the  Middle  Ages  was  to  attempt  to  fix  wages 
or  prices  by  law  whenever  conditions  appeared  to  de- 
mand it.  The  new  things  here  were  the  unwonted  scale 
upon  which  the  attempt  was  made  and  the  character  of 
the  enacting  body.  In  our  modern  age,  when  the  prin- 
ciples of  laissez  faire  seem  outworn  and  discussions  about 
wage  laws  and  regulation  of  the  cost  of  living  fill  the  air, 
it  should  be  a  matter  of  no  slight  interest  to  study  this 
early  economic  legislation  of  England  and  the  measures 
adopted  to  enforce  it.1 

8  and  9.  Writ  Appointing  Justices  of  Laborers  and  Pro- 
ceedings before  the  Justices  of  Laborers. 

The  Ordinance  and  later  the  Statute  of  Laborers  created 

1  On  this  legislation  of  Edward  II I. 's  reign  was  built  the  labor 
statute  of  Richard  II.  (1388),  which  has  recently  been  spoken  of  as 
"perhaps  the  most  important  of  all  the  enactments  relating  to 
laborers  between  the  Black  Death  and  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,"  and 
"the  basis  of  all  subsequent  Vagrancy  and  Poor  Law  legislation." — 
Bland,  English  Economic  History:  Select  Documents,  p.  171,  note  3. 

116 


Fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

an  additional,  and  in  some  ways  new,  administrative 
problem.  To  enforce  laws  so  detailed  and  touching  such 
a  numerous  class  was  a  great  task.  Various  rather  futile 
experiments  were  tried  after  the  Ordinance,  but  when 
the  Statute  was  made  it  was  necessary  to  attack  the  prob- 
lem more  seriously,  and  recourse  was  had  to  the  Justice 
of  the  Peace,  already  earning  his  name  of  "state's  man- 
of -all-work."  For  something  over  a  year,  that  is,  until 
about  the  end  of  1352,  joint  commissions  for  peace  and 
for  laborers  were  issued.  These  did  not  seem  to  work 
well;  perhaps  no  method  could  have  been  devised  that 
would.  But  there  was  complaint  in  parliament  and  a 
demand  for  new  and  different  commissions  with  greater 
powers.  This  resulted  in  a  seven-year  experiment  in 
issuing  separate  commissions  to  the  so-called  "justices 
of  laborers,"  whose  special  function  was  to  enforce  the 
labor  ordinance  and  statute,  and  who  might  or  might  not 
be  in  the  commission  of  the  peace.  It  was  "a  period  of 
tentative  attempts  at  regulation  of  economic  matters  by 
special  commissions."  l  The  present  appointing  writ 
constitutes  one  of  these  commissions.  After  1359  there 
was  a  reversion,  for  reasons  not  altogether  clear,  to  the 
preceding  method.  Doubtless  it  was  felt  that  there  was 
too  much  duplication  of  local  machinery,  and  the  senti- 
ment of  the  period  looked  toward  the  greatest  possible 
unity  in  county  administration. 

However,  that  the  experiment  with  justices  of  laborers 
was  by  no  means  a  failure  and  that  it  had  some  aspects 
significant  beyond  its  own  time  are  shown  in  the  many 
extant  records  of  proceedings.  The  last  group  of  docu- 
ments in  this  problem  contains  examples  of  these  pro- 

1  This  and  the  substance  of  the  other  statements  here  are  derived 
from  Miss  Putnam's  The  Justices  of  Laborers  in  the  Fourteenth  Cen- 
tury. English  Historical  Review,  XXI,  517-538. 

117 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

ceedings  and  conveys  some  notion  of  the  seriousness  and 
thoroughness  with  which  the  government  addressed  it- 
self to  the  enforcement  of  its  first  great  labor  laws. 


m.   QUESTIONS   AND   SUGGESTIONS   FOR   STUDY 

1.  From  the  thirteenth -century  manorial  "extent,"  make  a 

list  of  the  villein's  definite  yearly  obligations  to  his  lord 
grouped  under  three  heads :  a,  payments  in  kind ;  b,  money 
payments;  c,  labor  services.  What  ones  are  stated  in- 
definitely as  to  the  amount  or  time?  Consider  these  latter 
with  respect  to  the  villein's  profitable  cultivation  of  his 
own  holding.  What  evidence  is  there  that  "works"  were 
ever  reckoned  in  terms  of  money  or  kind?  What  indica- 
tion of  cummutation  of  works?  What  evidence  of  ser- 
vility aside  from  the  services? 

2.  Compare  the  early  fourteenth-century  villein's  services  with 

those  of  the  thirteenth  along  the  lines  just  suggested. 

3.  What  is  meant  by  "week- works"?    What  other  general 

class  of  "works"  do  you  find?  In  what  months  of  the 
year  were  the  greatest  number  of  "works"  due? 

4.  What  evidence  is  there  of  the  villein's  ownership  of  farm 

implements  or  live  stock? 

5.  Were  free  tenants  regularly  distinguished  from  villeins  by 

larger  holdings? 

6.  What  class  of  laborers  seems  to  have  been  first  regularly 

hired  on  the  manors?  During  the  period  here  illustrated, 
was  or  was  not  the  use  of  such  laborers  increasing?  Fur- 
nish specific  evidence  to  support  your  answer. 

7.  How  do  you  account  for  the  kind  of  rent  paid  by  the  "mol- 

men"? 

8.  What  evidence  is  there  throughout  the  period  of  a  tendency 

to  reckon  produce  or  service  in  terms  of  money,  even 
where  there  is  no  trace  of  commutation?  Account  for 
this. 

9.  What  indications  of  a  subdivision  of  virgates  and  the  exist- 

ence of  smaller  holdings?    What  was  the  probable  cause? 
118 


Fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

10.  During  what  part  of  this  period  does  commutation  of  ser- 

vices into  money  appear  to  have  been  going  on  most 
rapidly?  What  general  class  of  "works"  was  commuted 
first?  Why?  How  would  you  account  for  the  fact  that 
the  sum  of  rendered  and  commuted  services  did  not  always 
equal  the  number  due? 

11.  Effect  of  the  Black  Death  upon:  acres  sown;  commutation 

of  service;  total  rents  of  customary  tenants  (including 
labor  services);  number  of  hired  laborers;  holdings  "in 
the  lord's  hand";  money  leases. 

12.  Produce  all  the  evidence  possible  to  show  how  the  pestilence 

affected  the  cost  of  living.  Is  there  any  indication  that 
its  initial  effect  differed  from  its  more  permanent  effect? 

13.  Enumerate  in  detail  the  classes  or  groups  of  men  who 

sought  to  turn  to  their  financial  advantage  the  conditions 
produced  by  the  pestilence. 

14.  In  what  dilemma  was  the  landlord  often  placed  through  the 

action  of  laborers  after  the  pestilence?  How  did  the  king 
propose  to  deal  with  landlords  who  broke  his  labor  or- 
dinance? 

15.  Summarize  the  changes  or  developments  which  had  been 

going  on  upon  the  manor  which  were  accelerated  by  the 
pestilence.  Were  there  any  retarded?  Any  new  ones 
inaugurated? 

1 6.  What  are  the  important  differences  between  the  Ordinance 

and  Statute  of  Laborers?  Did  the  Statute  supersede 
the  Ordinance  or  supplement  it?  Did  the  justices  of 
laborers  have  any  authority  or  function  beyond  the  con- 
tent of  the  labor  laws?  Do  any  reasons  suggest  them- 
selves for  the  appointing  of  special  justices  to  enforce  these 
laws? 

17.  What  provision  was  made  in  these  laws  for  determining  a 

just  wage  and  a  just  price?  What  was  to  be  done  if 
laborers  refused  to  work? 

1 8.  What  hint  is  there  in  the  statute  or  elsewhere  of  the  ma- 

chinery which  had  been  used  to  enforce  the  Ordinance? 
How  successful  had  the  enforcement  been? 

19.  What  provision  was  made  against  artisans  refraining  from 

119 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

exercising  their  crafts  because  of  the  limit  set  to  the  prices 
they  might  charge  for  their  wares? 

20.  Did  or  did  not  this  legislation  run  counter  to  the  economic 

forces  of  the  time?  Produce  specific  evidence  to  support 
your  answer. 

21.  In  what  respect  are  the  traditional  titles,  Ordinance  and 

Statute  of  Laborers,  an  insufficient  index  of  the  contents 
of  the  documents? 

22.  What  evidence  is  there  that  laborers,  in  seeking  higher 

wages,  were  becoming  migratory?  What  measure  was 
taken  against  this?  How  do  you  account  for  the  excep- 
tions made?  How  was  day  labor  regarded? 

23.  What  new  method  of  hiring  labor  seems  to  have  been  in- 

stituted by  yie  Statute?    What  was  its  purpose? 

24.  The  Ordinance  and  Statute  have  often  been  looked  upon  as 

discriminatory  legislation  by  the  capitalist  class  against 
laborers.  Collect  all  the  data  possible  for  or  against  this 
view. 

25.  What  punishments  or  penalties  were  placed  at  the  discretion 

of  the  justices  for  those  who  broke  the  Statute? 

26.  Does  there  seem  to  have  been  a  vigorous  attempt  to  enforce 

the  labor  laws?  What  difficulties  were  encountered? 
What  form  of  trial  was  used?  What  impression  do  you 
get  of  the  number  prosecuted?  Were  the  penalties  which 
were  being  imposed  adequately  deterrent?  How  can  the 
last  point  be  proved  beyond  reasonable  doubt? 

27.  What  evidence  is  there  that  laborers  were  being  regarded 

more  in  their  relation  to  society  in  general  and  less  in 
relation  to  their  individual  lords? 

28.  To  just  what  extent  is  the  statement  that  "the  manor  was 

breaking  down"  supported  by  the  documents? 

29.  As  far  as  the  present  documents  justify  such  a  generaliza- 

tion, was  or  was  not  the  Black  Death  a  determining  force 
or  turning-point  in  English  economic  history? 

30.  How  would  you  summarize  the  changes  through  which  the 

laboring  class  was  passing  during  the  period  under  re- 
view? Formulate  what  appear  to  you  to  have  been  the 
primary  causes. 


IV.    The  Sources 

i.  Cartularium  Monasterii  de  Ramseia:  CCIX. 
1252.  (From  the  Latin  of  the  Rolls  Series  edi- 
tion, I,  344-347.  Translation  by  the  editor.) 

Nicholas,  son  of  Hueman,  holds  one  virgate  of 
s  land,  for  which  he  gives,  by  way  of  customary  pay- 
ment, twelve  pence  at  the  said  times  of  year;1   for 
the  sheriff's  aid  at  the  same  times  six  pence;  and  at 
the  feast  of  St.  Martin2  a  farthing  for  wardpenny; 
he  gives  tallage,  merchet,  lairwite,  gersum,  heriot, 
10  and  hidage3  when  it  occurs;  for  pannage  for  a  swine 
of  more  than  a  year,  two  pence ;  for  a  swine  of  half 
a  year,  a  penny  and  a  half;    for  a  swine  of  three 
months,  a  penny. 

If  he  have  ten  swine,  he  shall  choose  the  first,  and 
is  the  lord  the  second  swine,    and  so  for  each  swine 
beyond  the  ten  he  shall  give  as  before;  and  so  con- 
cerning his  own. 

1  The  feast  of  St.  Michael  (Sept.  29)  and  Easter. 

1  November   1 1 . 

ao  J  The  student  may  find  these  and  other  unusual  terms  allowed  to 
stand  in  the  text  in  the  more  extensive  dictionaries.  It  has  seemed 
best  not  to  try  circumlocutory  translations  in  such  cases. 

121 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

If  there  shall  not  be  a  supply  of  mast,  he  shall  give 
to  the  bailiff  for  his  swine  according  to  what  can  be 
arranged  between  them. 

But  if  there  be  a  supply  of  mast,  he  may  keep  his 

5  swine  at  home,  yet  for  each  one  he  shall  give  pan- 
nage as  stipulated  above. 

Also  he  is  to  give  a  cock  at  Christmas ;  at  Easter, 
five  eggs;  and  two  pence  in  Lent  as  fishsilver;  he 
shall  be  quit  of  these  for  a  work  and  a  half  when  his 

10  turn  comes;  at  view  of  frankpledge,  a  penny  and  a 
half;  and  at  the  feast  of  St.  Benedict,1  a  half  penny 
for  wethersilver. 

At  Christmas  four  bushels  of  oats  as  "fodder- 
corn."  He  shall  make  a  measure  and  a  half  of  malt, 

is  which  he  shall  take  at  his  house,  well  cleansed;  and 
he  shall  carry  it  to  Ramsey;  and  for  any  deficiency, 
if  such  be  found  in  it,  he  shall  satisfy  the  maltster 
from  his  own.  And  these  shall  be  credited  him  for 
the  works  of  three  days. 

ao  In  each  week  from  the  feast  of  St.  Michael  to  hoe- 
ing-time  he  shall  work  three  days  at  whatever  work 
shall  be  assigned  him;  and  on  the  fourth  day  he 
shall  plough  twenty  perches,  whether  he  work  with 
another  or  not. 

as  Also  he  shall  thresh  twenty-four  sheaves  of  wheat, 
and  twenty-four  of  rye;  of  barley,  oats,  beans,  and 
pease,  thirty  bundles  for  a  work. 

1  March  21. 

132 


Fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

If  he  is  to  ditch,  let  him  do  it,  in  level  ground,  for 
a  rod,  and  the  depth  three  feet;  and  the  width  at 
the  top  five  feet  and  at  the  bottom  two  feet. 

In  old  ditches  he  shall  do  for  one  work  two  rods 
5  of  the  same  depth  and  width;  from  the  feast  of  St. 
Michael  until  hockday1  he  shall  gather  four  fagots 
of  thorn  and  cany  them  to  the  court;  and  after 
hockday  he  shall  gather  five,  and  carry  them  in  the 
same  way;  and  as  often  as  he  gathers  wood  in  a 

10  swamp  or  forest,  he  shall  cany  four  fagots  to  a  place 
near  by  where  a  court  cart  is  likely  to  meet  him; 
and  when  he  has  carried  the  fagots  to  the  court,  he 
shall  make  up  two  fagots  which  he  shall  sort  well; 
and  as  for  wood,  so  he  shall  do  in  gathering  stakes 

is  to  be  used  for  making  fences  in  the  fields. 

He  shall  gather  five  fagots  in  Raveley  wood,  and 
in  the  woods  of  Uppenhale  and  Bottenhale  six 
fagots,  which  he  shall  carry  on  his  back  to  the  places 
which  need  fencing,  and  he  shall  fence  a  distance 

*o  of  thirty-four  feet  for  a  work.  In  winter  he  shall 
harrow  from  morning  till  evening  for  a  work,  and 
in  Lent  until  sunset.  At  wheat -seeding  he  shall 
plough,  for  his  virgate,  twenty  perches  himself 
alone  without  co-worker;  and  at  barley-seeding,  as 

25  his  plough  is  joined  with  others,  he  shall  plough  and 
harrow  twenty  perches,  and  so  he  and  his  co-workers 
shall  be  quit  of  the  ploughing  of  those  twenty  perches. 

1  The  second  Tuesday  after  Easter. 
9  123 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

The  reeve,  the  beadle,  the  forester,  and  the  four 
ploughmen  shall  do  this  same  ploughing  at  barley- 
seeding;  but  they  shall  not  harrow. 

He  shall  perform  cart  services  as  often  as  he  shall 
s  be  summoned. 

And  if,  because  the  time  is  rainy  or  for  any  other 
reason  unsuitable,  any  of  the  plough  services  are 
not  performed,  he  shall  fulfil  those  omitted  plough 
services  at  another  time,  when  it  is  commanded 
10  him.  He  shall  hoe  for  a  whole  day;  and  he  shall 
reap  until  the  ninth  hour;  and  on  the  day  in  which 
he  reaps,  after  the  ninth  hour,  he  shall  gather  in 
hay,  if  it  be  necessary. 

Also  in  gathering  in  hay  he  shall  work  the  whole 

is  day;    and  he  shall  cut  the  half -acre  of  meadow 

called  Benemede;    and  he  and  his  fellow-laborers 

shall  have  eight  pence;  and  this  shall  not  be  credited 

him  as  a  work. 

From  the  meadow  of  Northwood,  he,  with  his 
20  helper,  shall  carry  four  loads  of  hay  to  the  court; 
and  from  the  other  nearer  meadows  he  shall  carry  for 
one  work. 

And  he,  in  connection  with  another  virgate- 
holder,  shall  bring  one  load  of  hay  to  Ramsey;  and 
as  with  two  associates  he  shall  bring  a  second  load. 

Also  he  shall  gather  forty  bundles  of  broom  in 
the  swamp,  which  he  shall  carry  to  the  court  in  his 
cart;  and  if  the  depth  of  the  swamp  makes  it  im- 
possible for  the  cart  to  enter,  he  shall  have  the  use, 

124 


Fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

without  pay,  of  the  abbot's  boat  to  bring  the  said 
bundles  to  land. 

He  shall  perform  carrying  service  whenever  and 
wherever  ordered;  and  if  he  return  on  the  first  day 

s  it  shall  not  be  reckoned  him  as  a  work;  but  for  the 
time  consumed  in  going  and  coming  beyond  the  first 
day  he  shall  be  quit  of  all  work. 

In  each  week,  from  reaping-time  until  the  grain  is 
garnered,  he  shall  work  with  two  men  every  day  of 

10  the  week  except  Thursday  and  Saturday;  and  after 
the  grain  has  been  gathered  into  the  granary  he  shall 
work  with  one  man  at  whatever  shall  be  commanded 
him  those  same  days  in  each  week  until  the  Nativity 
of  the  Blessed  Mary;1  and  as  many  harvest  days 

is  as,  on  account  of  the  maturity  of  the  grain,  he  ful- 
filled before  the  Gule  of  August,2  so  many  days  shall 
be  credited  him  before  the  Nativity  of  the  Blessed 
Mary;  and  from  the  Nativity  of  the  Blessed  Mary 
to  the  feast  of  St.  Michael,  he  shall  work  four  days 

20  a  week  with  one  man,  as  he  did  in  hoeing-time;  but 
he  shall  not  plough. 

In  each  week  while  harvest  lasts,  whenever  it  shall 
be  commanded  him,  he  shall  carry  five  loads  of 
grain  to  the  storehouse;  yet  he  shall  find  one  man 

25  to  work  in  the  fields. 

And  to  all  the  harvest  services,  he  himself  or  his 
wife  with  their  whole  family  shall  come  to  work; 

1  September  8.  'August  I. 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

and  at  the  first  service  he  shall  have  a  sufficient 
amount  of  bread,  ale,  fresh  meat,  pot-herbs,  and 
cheese;  and  at  the  other  services  he  shall  have  fish; 
and  if  bread  is  bought  they  shall  have  two  loaves 
s  at  the  price  of  three  farthings. 

He  shall  reap  half  an  acre  of  grain,  which  is  called 

good  work;  in  one  harvest  week,  he  shall  bind  and 

carry  home  on  Thursday  or  Saturday;    and  on  the 

same  day  he  shall  carry  one  load  elsewhere,  which 

10  shall  not  be  credited  him  as  a  work. 

And  if,  in  one  week,  he  performs  services  on  Mon- 
day, Tuesday,  and  Wednesday,  in  some  other  week 
he  shall  perform  services  on  Thursday,  on  which 
day  he  owes  his  lord  no  work. 

is  On  the  three  Thursdays  before  Christmas,  Easter, 
and  the  feast  of  St.  Benedict  he  shall  do  whatever 
work  may  be  assigned  him. 

He  may  not  sell  horse,  cock,  nor  ox  without  the 
bailiff's  permission,  until  he  know  whether  or  not 
s»  it  should  be  for  the  lord's  use. 

He  shall  gather  a  quarter  of  a  bushel  of  nuts  in 
the  woods  wherever  it  be  commanded  him. 

On  St.  Michael's  day  before  breakfast,  he  may  sell 
as  many  of  his  swine  as  he  can  to  whomsoever  he 
as  will,  without  the  bailiff's  permission;   but  not  after 
breakfast. 

In  regard  to  making  hurdles  and  pens  and  stand- 
ing guard  at  the  time  of  St.  Ive's  fair  he  shall  do  the 
same  as  a  virgate-holder  of  Wistow. 

126 


Fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

And  if  he  be  sick  continuously  for  a  year  and  a 
day,  he  shall  be  quit  of  all  work  except  ploughing, 
and  after  a  year  not  at  all. 

If  his  wife  survive  him,  she  shall  give  five  shillings 

s  as  heriot;    and  she  shall  be  quit  of  all  work  for 

thirty  days;  but  if  the  lord  will,  she  may  compound 

for  her  works,  which  shall  be  estimated.     If  he,  or 

his  wife,  or  any  other  in  the  house  die,  as  long  as 

the  body  remains  unburied,  no  work  shall  be  re- 

10  quired  except  ploughing. 

On  the  day  he  marries  he  shall,  according  to  his 
ability,  honorably  remember  the  court  servants 
with  bread,  ale,  flesh  or  fish. 

2.  Extent   of  the  Manor  of  Borley.     1308.     (Latin 
is  text  in  Cunningham,  Growth  of  English  Industry 

and  Commerce,  third  edition,  I,  Appendix, 
pp.  576-584.  Translated  by  E.  P.  Cheyney 
in  Annals  of  the  American  Academy,  IV, 
279-291. *) 

ao  Free  Tenants. — William,  son  of  Ralph,  a  Knight, 
holds  from  the  lord  18  acres,  by  paying  thence, 
yearly,  at  Easter,  iSd.,  and  at  the  feast  of  St. 
Michael,  i8d. 

Henry  of  Latheley  holds  from  the  lord  50  acres 

»s  of  land,  by  paying  thence,  yearly,  at  Easter,  2id.t 

1  There  is  an  important  introduction  by  Professor  Cheyney,  Ibid., 
pp.  275-278. 

127 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

and  at  the  feast  of  St.  Michael,  2  id  And  he  is 
bound  to  attendance  at  the  court. 

John  of  Lystone  holds  from  the  lord  in  Borley 
40  acres  of  land  and  4  acres  of  meadow,  by  paying 
s  therefrom,  yearly,  at  the  feast  of  St.  Michael,  6d. 
for  all  services. 

William  Joy  holds  from  the  lord  one  messuage 

and  20  acres  of  land,  and  2  acres  of  meadow,  and 

a  half -acre  of  pasture,  by  paying  therefrom,  yearly, 

10  at  the  feast  of  St.  Michael,  i2d.     And  he  is  bound 

to  attendance  at  court. 

Hugh  at  Fen  holds  from  the  lord  6  acres  of  land, 

and  a  half -acre  of  meadow,  and  a  rood  of  pasture,  by 

paying  thence,  yearly,  at  the  aforesaid  two  periods, 

is  25.  gd.     And  he  is  bound  to  attendance  at  court. 

Reginald  Crummelond  holds  from  the  lord  12 
acres  of  land,  by  paying  thence  annually  105.  And 
he  is  bound  to  attendance  at  court. 

William  le  Yachter  holds  from  the  lord  in  the 
20  demesne  and  in  service  2  acres  of  land,  and  a  half- 
acre  of  meadow,  by  paying  thence  yearly  at  Easter 
and  at  the  feast  of  St.  Michael  in  equal  portions, 
id.  And  he  is  bound  to  attendance  at  court. 

Molmen.1 — The  tenants  of  the  land  of  Simon  of 

as  Aunsel,   viz.,   John  Aunsel  holds   i   cottage  and   i 

rood  of  land;   Roger  at  Remete,  4  acres  and  3  roods 

of  land;   Richard  Gakoun,  2  acres  of  land;  William 

1 "  Men  holding  in  villeinage,  but  paying  money  rent  with  light 
services." — CUNNINGHAM. 

128 


Fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

Oslock,  i  acre  of  land;  Augustus,  the  clerk,  two 
acres  and  a  half  of  land;  Walter  Morel,  3  acres 
of  land;  Dennis  Rauf,  i  rood  of  meadow.  And 
they  pay  thence,  yearly,  that  is  to  say  at  Easter, 
s  gd.,  and  at  the  feast  of  St.  Michael,  gd.,  and  at  the 
Purification,  of  Unthiel,1  25.  2-3  f$d.t  and  at  Christ- 
mas a  hen  of  the  price  of  i-i/2d.  And  they  will 
provide  two  men  to  reap  for  one  bedrepe 2  in  autumn 
at  the  will  of  the  lord  with  the  lord's  food,  as  is 
i«  explained  below.  The  price  of  each  service  is  zd. 
And  they  are  bound  to  attendance  at  court. 

Customary  Tenants. — Walter  Johan  holds  from  the 
lord  in  villeinage  one  messuage  and  10  acres  of  land, 

is  by  paying  thence  yearly  at  the  festival  of  the  Puri- 
fication of  the  Blessed  Mary,  of  Unthiel,  45.  5-1  /W.; 
and  at  Easter  20-1/2^. ;  and  at  the  feast  of  St. 
Michael,  26-1/2^.;  and  at  the  feast  of  Christmas, 
i  hen  and  a  half,  the  hen  being  of  the  price  of 

*o  i-i/2d.  And  from  the  feast  of  St.  Michael  (Sep- 
tember 29)  to  the  feast  of  St.  Peter  ad  Vin- 
cula  (August  i)  in  each  week  3  works  with  one 
man  without  the  food  of  the  lord,  the  price  of  a 
work  being  i/2d.,  three  weeks  being  excepted, 

•s  that  is  to  say,  Christmas  week,  Easter  week,  and 
Whitsuntide,  in  which  they  will  not  work  unless 
it  is  absolutely  required  by  the  necessity  for  bind- 

1  The  meaning  of  this  word  is  not  known. 
J  Often  written  bedrip. 

129 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

ing   the    grain    in   autumn   and  for   carrying  hay. 
And   he    shall    plough    with   his    plough,    whether 
he  has  to  join  or  not,  4  acres  of  the  land  of  the 
lord   without   the   food   of   the  lord,  the  price   of 
s  each  acre  being  5-1  /id.,  of  which  2  acres  are  to  be 
in  the  season  for  planting  wheat  and  2  for  oats.    And 
he  shall  carry  the  manure  of  the  lord  of  the  manor 
with  his  horse  and  cart  at  the  food  of  the  lord; 
that  is,  each  day  a  loaf  and  a  half  of  rye  bread,  of 
10  the  size  of  40  loaves  to  the  quarter,  and  to  weed 
the  grain  of  the  lord  so  long  as  there  shall  be  any 
weeding  to  be  done,  and  it  shall  be  reckoned  in  his 
services.     And  he  ought  to  mow  the  meadow  of  the 
lord;   that  is  to  say,  i  acre  and  the  third  part  of  an 
is  acre,  according  to  suitable  measure.     And  it  will  be 
reckoned  in  his  services,  that  is  for  each  acre,  3  works. 
And  it  is  to  be  known  that  whenever  he,  along  with 
the  other  customary  tenants  of  the  vill,  shall  mow 
the  meadow  of  Rainholm,  they  shall  have,  accord- 
so  ing  to  custom,  3  bushels  of  wheat  for  bread  and  i 
ram  of  the  price  of  iSd.,  and  i  jar  of  butter,  and  i 
cheese  next  to  the  best  from  the  dairy  of  the  lord, 
and  salt  and  oatmeal  for  their  porridge,  and  all  the 
morning  milk  from  all  the  cows  of  the  whole  dairy 
*s  at  that  time.     And  he  shall  toss,  carry,  and  pile 
the  said  acre  and  a  half  of  hay,  and  shall  carry  it 
to  the  manor,  and  it  will  be  reckoned  in  his  works. 
And  he  shall  have  for  each  work  of  mowing  as  much 
of  the  green  grass,  when  he  shall  have  mowed  it, 

130 


Fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

as  he  shall  be  able  to  carry  on  the  point  of  his  scythe. 
And  when  he  has  carried  the  said  hay  he  shall  have, 
at  the  end  of  the  said  carrying,  the  body  of  the  cart 
full  of  hay.  And  he  shall  reap  in  autumn  from 
s  the  feast  of  St.  Peter  ad  Vincula  (August  i)  to  the 
feast  of  St.  Michael  (September  29)  through  the 
whole  autumn,  24  works,  without  food  from  the 
lord,  the  price  of  one  work  being  id.  And  he  shall 
carry  the  grain  of  the  lord  and  pile  it,  and  it  shall 

10  be  accounted  for  in  his  works.  And  he  shall  have 
as  often  as  he  carries,  one  bundle  called  the  men- 
sheaf;  and  he  shall  haul  with  his  horse  twelve 
leagues  around  the  manor  as  much  as  the  weight 
of  2  bushels  of  salt  or  of  3  bushels  of  wheat,  of  rye, 

is  of  peas,  or  of  beans;  and  of  oats,  4  bushels.  And 
he  ought  to  go  for  the  said  grain  and  bring  it  to  the 
granary  of  the  lord  with  the  aforesaid  horse  and 
his  own  sack.  And  he  shall  have,  as  often  as  he 
hauls,  as  much  oats  as  he  is  able  to  measure  and 

ao  carry  in  the  palm  of  his  hand  three  times.  And  if 
he  shall  not  have  carried  he  is  not  to  give  anything, 
but  there  will  be  appointed  in  the  place  of  each 
carrying  one  work  of  the  price  of  a  half  penny. 
And  he  shall  give  aid  and  must  attend  the  court. 

as  And  he  shall  give  merchet  on  the  marriage  of  his 
daughter,  at  the  will  of  the  lord. 

[There  follow  here  the  entries  of  twenty-seven  other 
villeins'  rents  and  services,  most  of  which,  according 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

to  the  size  of  the  holdings,  resemble  closely  Walter 
Johan's;  Jour  cotemen  with  their  minor  holdings  and 
services  appear  next;  and  the  extent  concludes  with 
grand  summaries  and  totals  of  the  manor's  annual 
5  value,  in  which  the  "works"  are  evaluated  on  a  money 
basis.] 

3.  Typical  Lists  of  Manorial  Services.  (Translated 
from  summaries  in  T.  W.  Page,  Die  Umwand- 
lung  der  Frohndienste  in  Geldrenten,  pp.  48-51.) 

jo  Ashwell.  In  the  year  1347,  260  acres  were  sown. 
The  villeins  performed  68  works  in  hoeing,  68  at 
hay-harvest.  Everything  else  was  done  by  hired 
labor.  About  300  works  in  harvest  were  commuted. 
.  .  .  In  1351,  143  acres  were  sown,  and  about  the 

is  same  service  rendered  or  sold  as  before.  .  .  . 

Meesden.  In  1347,  219  acres  were  sown.  There 
were  14  villeins,  each  of  whom  owed,  during  the 
winter,  one  work  per  week.  Of  the  week-works, 
about  200  were  performed  and  300  commuted. 

20  Besides  these,  they  furnished  30  works  in  hoeing, 
and  harvested  12  acres  of  hay  and  190  acres  of 
grain.  Four  ploughmen  were  hired,  and  145.  were 
paid  for  hired  labor  at  threshing  and  45.  at  hoeing, 
and  the  hay  of  8  acres  was  harvested  by  hired  labor. 

25  .  .  .  In  1350,  only  187  acres  were  sown,  "less  on 
account  of  the  pestilence  and  the  small  amount  of 
help."  The  villeins  furnished  in  winter  about  the 
same  amount  of  service  as  before,  but  harvested 
only  about  90  acres  in  autumn.  The  pestilence 

132 


Fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

caused  the  commutation  of  a  few  works  into  money 
payments.  .  .  .  Various  holdings  were  "in  the  lord's 
hand,"  that  is,  they  were  without  holders.  The 
condition  was  the  same  in  1358,  except  that  there 

s  was  a  little  more  service  furnished  than  during  the 
pestilence. 

Stevenage.  In  the  year  1334,  325  acres  were  sown. 
Several  herdsmen,  four  ploughmen,  and  one  carter 
were  hired.  Each  of  the  14  virgates,  "the  cus- 

10  ternary  land,"  was  divided  among  several  peasants. 
Each  virgate  owed,  from  Michaelmas  to  the  middle 
of  July,  5  works  per  week.  There  were  also  four 
cotters,  each  of  whom  performed  2  works  per  week, 
and  besides  were  expected  to  harvest  5  acres  of  grain. 

is  Counting  the  "boon-works,"  l  the  services  at  this 
time  divide  thus: 

DUB  RENDERED     COMMUTED 

Week- works  in  winter  and  summer. 1 91 3  700  800 

Cart  services 280  250  21 

Plough  services 168  104  6 

20  Harrow  services 56  56  o 

Autumn  works 686  575  o 

Service  in  carrying  grain 28  27  o 

Twenty  acres  harvested  by  cotters. 

.  .  .  In  1349,  6-1/4  virgates  were  without  holders 

»s  because  of  the  pestilence;    but  the  bailiff  had  300 

acres  sown.     In  the  autumn  he  had  to  give  13  acres 

of  standing  grain  as  pay  to  hired  workers;    16  acres 

1  Special  works,  not  fixed  in  amount,  character,  or  time  of  ren- 
dering. 

133 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

were  harvested  by  hired  labor;  and  10  acres  of 
grain  remained  on  the  stalk  through  lack  of  laborers. 
Though  labor  was  so  much  needed,  yet  money  pay- 
ments had  to  be  taken  in  commutation  of  12  acres' 

s  ploughing,  4  acres'  harrowing,  15  cart  services,  193 
works  in  winter  and  15  in  harvest.  In  1352,  only 
219  acres  were  sown,  for  7-1/2  virgates  and  the 
holdings  of  3  cotters  were  in  the  lord's  hand.  There 
was  commutation  of  22  acres'  ploughing,  12  acres' 

10  harrowing,  91  cart  services,  440  winter  works,  and 
60  autumn  works.  In  1357,  9-1/2  virgates  were 
vacant  or  let  at  a  money  rent;  245  acres  of  the 
demesne  were  sown.  The  same  number  of  regular 
hired  laborers  was  employed  as  before  the  pestilence, 

is  but  in  addition  enough  labor  was  hired  by  the  day 
to  supply  about  half  the  work  on  the  demesne.  In 
1360,  there  were  10  virgates  leased  for  money  and 
the  same  number  in  1362,  when  lod.  per  acre  had 
to  be  paid  for  harvesting,  "through  scarcity  of  men 

ao  caused  by  the  pestilence."  In  1373,  n  virgates  and 
3  cotters'  holdings  were  leased;  196  acres  were 
sown.  At  this  time  the  remaining  customary  ser- 
vice divides  thus: 

RENDERED  COMMUTED 

Week-works  in  winter  and  summer 256  75 

as  Cart  services 39  16 

Plough  services 30  o 

Harrow  services 15  o 

Autumn  works no  o 

Five  acres  harvested  by  cotters. 

134 


Fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

In  1377,  12  virgates  and  3  cotters'  holdings  were 
leased;  and  in  1386,  when  230  acres  were  sown,  all 
the  peasant  holdings  were  leased.  On  this  manor 
there  is  no  further  trace  of  customary  service. 
s  Standon.  In  1343,  240  acres  were  sown,  and  a 
carter  and  4  ploughmen  were  hired.  Two  virgates 
owed  3  works  per  week  in  winter,  3  eight-acre  hold- 
ings owed  2  per  week,  and  2  cotters'  holdings  owed 
i.  But  one  eight -acre  holding  was  leased,  and 

10  rendered  no  more  service.  The  services  were  dis- 
tributed thus:  96  works  in  threshing,  31  in  hay 
harvest,  10  in  repairing  buildings,  67  commuted; 
the  villeins  owed  67  in  making  malt,  of  which  19 
were  rendered;  they  were  to  plough  32-1/2  acres, 

»s  but  ploughed  only  3;  6  acres  were  to  be  harrowed, 
but  not  any  of  this  work  was  rendered;  they  owed 
107  works  in  hoeing,  and  rendered  62;  88  in  hay 
harvest,  and  rendered  86;  260  in  corn  harvest,  and 
rendered  210;  and,  besides,  a  few  "boon-works." 

ao  Thus   the   manor   remained   till    1348.     After   the 
pestilence,  the  holdings  came  bit  by  bit  into  the 
lord's  hands.     In  1362,  only  58  customary  works 
were  rendered,  and  in  1376  the  manor  was  leased. 
4.  Chronicon  Henrici  Knighton.     1349.     (From  the 

as  Latin   of   the  Rolls  Series  edition,  II,  61-65. 

Translation  by  W.  J.  Ashley  in  Edward  III. 
and  his  Wars,  pp.  122-127.) 
Then   the  grievous  plague  penetrated    the   sea- 
coasts  from  Southampton,  and  came  to  Bristol,  and 

i3S 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

there  almost  the  whole  strength  of  the  town  died, 
struck  as  it  were  by  sudden  death;  for  there  were 
few  who  kept  their  beds  more  than  three  days,  or 
two  days,  or  half  a  day;  and  after  this  the  fell  death 

s  broke  forth  on  every  side  with  the  course  of  the 
sun.  There  died  at  Leicester  in  the  small  parish 
of  St.  Leonard  more  than  380;  in  the  parish  of  Holy 
Cross  more  than  400;  in  the  parish  of  St.  Margaret 
of  Leicester  more  than  700;  and  so  in  each  parish 

«o  a  great  number.  Then  the  bishop  of  Lincoln  sent 
through  the  whole  bishopric,  and  gave  general  power 
to  the  priests  each  and  all,  both  regular  and  secular, 
to  hear  confessions,  and  absolve  with  full  and  entire 
episcopal  authority  except  in  matters  of  debt,  in 

is  which  case  the  dying  man,  if  he  could,  should  pay 
the  debt  while  he  lived,  or  others  should  certainly 
fulfil  that  duty  from  his  property  after  his  death. 
Likewise,  the  pope  granted  full  remission  of  all  sins  to 
whoever  was  absolved  in  peril  of  death  and  granted 

ao  that  this  power  should  last  till  next  Easter,  and  ev- 
ery one  could  choose  a  confessor  at  his  will.  In  the 
same  year  there  was  a  great  plague  of  sheep  every- 
where in  the  realm,  so  that  in  one  place  there  died 
in  one  pasturage  more  than  5000  sheep,  and  so 

as  rotted  that  neither  beast  nor  bird  would  touch  them. 
And  there  were  small  prices  for  everything  on  ac- 
count of  the  fear  of  death,  for  there  were  few  who 
cared  about  riches  or  anything  else.  For  a  man 
could  have  a  horse,  which  before  was  worth  405., 

136 


fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

for  65.  8d.,  a  fat  ox  for  45.,  a  cow  for  i2d.,  a  heifer 
for  6d.,  a  fat  wether  for  4^.,  a  sheep  for  3^.,  a  lamb 
for  2<i.,  a  big  pig  for  $d.,  a  stone  of  wool  for  gd. 
Sheep  and  cattle  went  wandering  over  fields  and 
s  through  crops,  and  there  was  no  one  to  go  and  drive 
or  gather  them,  so  that  the  number  cannot  be 
reckoned  which  perished  in  the  ditches  in  every  dis- 
trict, for  lack  of  herdsmen;  for  there  was  such  a 
lack  of  servants  that  no  one  knew  what  he  ought 

10  to  do;  ...  In  the  following  autumn  no  one  could 
get  a  reaper  for  less  than  Sd.  with  his  food,  a  mower 
for  less  than  i2d.  with  his  food.  Wherefore  many 
crops  perished  in  the  fields  for  want  of  some  one  to 
gather  them;  but  in  the  pestilence  year,  as  is  above 

is  said  of  other  things,  there  was  such  abundance  of 
all  kinds  of  corn  that  no  one  much  troubled  about  it. 

Master  Thomas  of  Bradwardine  was  consecrated 
by  the  pope  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  when 
he  returned  to  England  he  came  to  London,  but 

20  within  two  days  was  dead.  He  was  famous  beyond 
all  other  clerks  in  the  whole  of  Christendom,  es- 
pecially in  theology,  but  likewise  in  the  other  liberal 
sciences.  At  the  same  time  priests  were  in  such 
poverty  everywhere  that  many  churches  were 

as  widowed  and  lacking  the  divine  offices,  masses, 
matins,  vespers,  sacraments,  and  other  rites.  A 
man  could  scarcely  get  a  chaplain  under  £10  or 
10  marks  to  minister  to  a  church.  And  when  a  man 

137 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

could  get  a  chaplain  for  five  or  four  marks  or  even 
for  two  marks  with  his  food  when  there  was  an 
abundance  of  priests  before  the  pestilence,  there 
was  scarcely  any  one  now  who  was  willing  to  accept 

s  a  vicarage  for  £20  or  20  marks;  but  within  a  short 
time  a  very  great  multitude  of  those  whose  wives 
had  died  in  the  pestilence  flocked  into  orders,  of 
whom  many  were  illiterate  and  little  more  than  lay- 
men, except  so  far  as  they  knew  how  to  read,  although 

10  they  could  not  understand. 

Cowhides  were  at  the  low  price  of  i2d.,  a  pair  of 
shoes  for  iod.,  i2d.,  or  14^.,  and  a  pair  of  boots  for 
three  or  four  shillings.  Meanwhile  the  king  sent 
proclamation  into  all  the  counties  that  reapers  and 

is  other  laborers  should  not  take  more  than  they  had 
been  accustomed  to  take,  under  the  penalty  ap- 
pointed by  statute.  But  the  laborers  were  so  lifted 
up  and  obstinate  that  they  would  not  listen  to  the 
king's  command,  but  if  any  one  wished  to  have  them 

ao  he  had  to  give  them  what  they  wanted,  and  either 
lose  his  fruit  and  crops,  or  satisfy  the  lofty  and 
covetous  wishes  of  the  workmen.  And  when  it  was 
known  to  the  king  that  they  had  not  observed  his 
command,  and  had  given  greater  wages  to  the 

as  laborers,  he  levied  heavy  fines  upon  abbots,  priors, 
knights,  greater  and  lesser,  and  other  great  folk  and 
small  folk  of  the  realm,  of  some  ioos.,  of  some  405., 
of  some  205.,  from  each  according  to  what  he  could 
give.  He  took  from  each  carucate  of  the  realm 

138 


Fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

205.,  and,  notwithstanding  this,  a  fifteenth.  And 
afterward  the  king  had  many  laborers  arrested,  and 
sent  them  to  prison ;  many  withdrew  themselves  and 
went  into  the  forests  and  woods;  and  those  who 

3  were  taken  were  heavily  fined.  Their  ringleaders 
were  made  to  swear  that  they  would  not  take  daily 
wages  beyond  the  ancient  custom,  and  then  were 
freed  from  prison.  And  in  like  manner  was  done 
with  the  other  craftsmen  in  the  boroughs  and  vil- 

10  lages.  .  .  . 

After  the  aforesaid  pestilence,  many  buildings, 
great  and  small,  fell  into  ruins  in  every  city,  bor- 
ough, and  village  for  lack  of  inhabitants;  likewise 
many  small  villages  and  hamlets  became  desolate, 

is  not  a  house  being  left  in  them,  all  having  died  who 
dwelt  there;  and  it  was  probable  that  many  such 
villages  would  never  be  inhabited.  In  the  winter 
following  there  was  such  a  want  of  servants  in  work 
of  all  kinds,  that  one  would  scarcely  believe  that 

«o  in  times  past  there  had  been  such  a  lack.  The 
cattle  and  flocks  which  a  man  had  wandered  about 
everywhere  without  pasture,  and  everything  which 
a  man  had  was  without  care.  And  so  all  neces- 
saries became  so  much  dearer  that  what  in  times 

as  past  had  been  worth  a  penny  was  then  worth  4<f. 
or  $d. 

Magnates  and  lesser  lords  of  the  realm  who  had 
tenants  made  abatements  of  the  rent  in  order  that 
the  tenants  should  not  go  away  on  account  of  the 
10  139 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

want  of  servants  and  the  general  clearness,  some 
half  the  rent,  some  more,  some  less,  some  for  two 
years,  some  for  three,  some  for  one  year,  according 
as  they  could  agree  with  them.  Likewise,  those  who 

s  received  of  their  tenants  day  work  throughout  the 
year,  as  is  the  practice  with  villeins,  had  to  give 
them  more  leisure,  and  remit  such  works,  and  either 
entirely  to  free  them  or  give  them  an  easier  tenure 
at  a  small  rent,  so  that  homes  should  not  be  every- 

10  where  irrecoverably  ruined,   and   the  land   every- 
where remain  entirely  uncultivated.    And  all  victuals 
and  necessities  of  every  sort  became  very  dear. 
5.  Royal  Writ  in  behalf  of  John  de  Paddebury.     1350. 
(Calendar  of  Patent  Rolls,  1348-1350,  p.  563.) 

15  Whereas  the  king  lately  leased  to  his  yeoman 
John  de  Paddebury  and  to  Henry  de  Solihull,  now 
deceased,  the  fee  of  his  seal  for  writs  judicial  in  the 
Common  Bench  for  ten  years,  at  a  farm  to  be  ren- 
dered at  the  exchequer  yearly;  in  consideration  of 

20  the  mortal  pestilence  of  men  which  lately  prevailed 
everywhere  in  England  to  such  an  extent  that  there 
was  no  concourse  of  men  at  the  Bench  as  usual, 
whereby  the  fee  amounted  to  very  little,  the  king 
has  pardoned  to  the  same  John  both  the  farm  from 

as  the  time  of  the  said  grant  to  him  and  Henry  down 
to  the  time  when  the  seal  passed  into  the  hands  of 
Anthony  Bache,  by  the  king's  grant,  and  all  arrears 
of  such  farm,  and  has  pardoned  him  also  those  twenty 
marks  which  he  received  from  Walter  de  Weston 

140 


Fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

in  the  siege  of  the  castle  of  Dunbarre,  in  Scotland, 
for  260  sheaves  of  arrows  at  York  and  Newcastle- 
upon-Tyne  and  the  expenses  of  bringing  the  same 
to  Dunbarre. 

s  6.  Ordinance  of  Laborers.  1349.  (Latin  text  and 
translation  in  Statutes  of  the  Realm,  I,  307, 
308.) 

The  king  to  the  sheriff  of  Kent,  greeting.     Be- 
cause a  great  part  of  the  people,  and  especially  of 

10  workmen  and  servants,  late  died  of  the  pestilence, 
many  seeing  the  necessity  of  masters,  and  great 
scarcity  of  servants,  will  not  serve  unless  they  may 
receive  excessive  wages,  and  some  rather  willing  to 
beg  in  idleness,  than  by  labor  to  get  their  living; 

is  we,  considering  the  grievous  incommodities,  which 
of  the  lack  especially  of  ploughmen  and  such  labor- 
ers may  hereafter  come,  have  upon  deliberation  and 
treaty  with  the  prelates  and  the  nobles,  and  learned 
men  assisting  us,  of  their  mutual  counsel  ordained: 

20  That  every  man  and  woman  of  our  realm  of 
England,  of  what  condition  he  be,  free  or  bond,  able 
in  body,  and  within  the  age  of  threescore  years,  not 
living  in  merchandise,  nor  exercising  any  craft,  nor 
having  of  his  own  whereof  he  may  live,  nor  proper 

as  land,  about  whose  tillage  he  may  himself  occupy, 
and  not  serving  any  other,  if  he  in  convenient  ser- 
vice, his  estate  considered,  be  required  to  serve,  he 
shall  be  bounden  to  serve  him  which  so  shall  him 
require;  and  take  only  the  wages,  livery,  meed,  or 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

salary,  which  were  accustomed  to  be  given  in  the 
places  where  he  oweth  to  serve,  the  twentieth  year 
of  our  reign  of  England,  or  five  or  six  other  common 
years  next  before.  Provided  always,  that  the  lords 

s  be  preferred  before  other  in  their  bondmen  or  their 
land  tenants,  so  in  their  service  to  be  retained;  so 
that  nevertheless  the  said  lords  shall  retain  no  more 
than  be  necessary  for  them;  and  if  any  such  man 
or  woman,  being  so  required  to  serve,  will  not  the 

10  same  do,  that  proved  by  two  true  men  before  the 
sheriff  or  the  constables  of  the  town  where  the  same 
shall  happen  to  be  done,  he  shall  anon  be  taken  by 
them  or  any  of  them,  and  committed  to  the  next 
gaol,  there  to  remain  under  strait  keeping,  till  he 

is  find  surety  to  serve  in  the  form  aforesaid. 

Item,  if  any  reaper,  mower,  or  other  workman  or 
servant,  of  what  estate  or  condition  that  he  be, 
retained  in  any  man's  service,  do  depart  from  the 
said  service  without  reasonable  cause  or  license, 

20  before  the  term  agreed,  he  shall  have  pain  of  im- 
prisonment. And  that  none  under  the  same  pain 
presume  to  receive  or  to  retain  any  such  in  his  ser- 
vice. 

Item,  that  no  man  pay,  or  promise  to  pay,  any 

as  servant  any  more  wages,  liveries,  meed,  or  salary 
than  was  wont,  as  afore  is  said;  nor  that  any  in 
other  manner  shall  demand  or  receive  the  same, 
upon  pain  of  doubling  of  that,  that  so  shall  be 
paid,  promised,  required,  or  received,  to  him  which 

142 


Fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

thereof  shall  feel  himself  grieved,  pursuing  l  for  the 
same;  and  if  none  such  will  pursue,  then  the  same 
to  be  applied  to  any  of  the  people  that  will  pursue; 
and  such  pursuit  shall  be  in  the  court  of  the  lord 

s  of  the  place  where  such  case  shall  happen. 

Item,  if  the  lords  of  the  towns  or  manors  presume 
in  any  point  to  come  against  this  present  ordinance 
either  by  them,  or  by  their  servants,  then  pursuit 
shall  be  made  against  them  in  the  counties,  wapen- 

10  takes,  tithings,  or  such  other  courts,  for  the  treble 
pain  paid  or  promised  by  them  or  their  servants  in 
the  form  aforesaid;  and  if  any  before  this  present 
ordinance  hath  covenanted  with  any  so  to  serve  for 
more  wages,  he  shall  not  be  bound  by  reason  of 

15  the  same  covenant,  to  pay  more  than  at  any  other 
time  was  wont  to  be  paid  to  such  person;  nor  upon 
the  said  pain  shall  presume  any  more  to  pay. 

Item,  that  saddlers,  skinners,  white-tawers,  cord- 
wainers,  tailors,  smiths,  carpenters,  masons,  tilers, 

ao  [shipwrights],  carters,  and  all  other  artificers  and 
workmen,2  shall  not  take  for  their  labor  and  work- 

1  In  the  sense  of  pursuing  a  remedy  at  law. 

1  This  and  other  passages  in  both  Ordinance  and  Statute  show  that 
there  were  many  important  classes  of  money-paid  laborers  besides 

35  the  agricultural  laborers — classes  which  were  perfectly  well  known 
and  taken  for  granted  by  the  government.  The  space  limits  of  this 
problem  have  prohibited  the  inclusion  of  documents  to  show  the 
historical  antecedents  of  these  men.  But  the  same  money  economy 
which  fostered  paid  labor  on  the  manors  had  been  bringing  forth 

30  in  abundance  the  artisans  and  craftsmen  of  the  towns.  The  vil- 
leins, mentioned  above,  who  ran  away  to  the  towns  had  recruited 
this  class.  In  connection  with  the  present  study,  it  is  important  to 

U3 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

manship  above  the  same  that  was  wont  to  be  paid 
to  such  persons  the  said  twentieth  year,  and  other 
common  years  next  before,  as  afore  is  said,  in  the 
place  where  they  shall  happen  to  work;  and  if  any 

s  man  take  more,  he  shall  be  committed  to  the  next 
gaol,  in  manner  as  afore  is  said. 

Item,  that  butchers,  fishmongers,  hostelers,  brew- 
ers, bakers,  pulters,1  and  all  other  sellers  of  all  man- 
ner of  victual,  shall  be  bound  to  sell  the  same  victual 

10  for  a  reasonable  price,  having  respect  to  the  price 
that  such  victual  be  sold  at  in  the  places  adjoining, 
so  that  the  same  sellers  have  moderate  gains,  and 
not  excessive,  reasonably  to  be  required  according 
to  the  distance  of  the  place  from  whence  the  said 

is  victuals  be  carried;  and  if  any  sell  such  victuals 
in  any  other  manner,  and  thereof  be  convict  in  the 
manner  and  form  aforesaid,  he  shall  pay  the  double 
of  the  same  that  he  so  received,  to  the  party  dam- 
nified, or,  in  default  of  him,  to  any  other  that  will 

20  pursue  in  this  behalf:  and  the  mayors  and  bailiffs 
of  cities,  boroughs,  merchant-towns,  and  others,  and 
of  the  ports  and  places  of  the  sea,  shall  have  power 
to  inquire  of  all  and  singular  which  shall  in  any 
thing  offend  the  same,  and  to  levy  the  said  pain 

as  to  the  use  of  them  at  whose  suit  such  offenders  shall 
be  convict;  and  in  case  that  the  same  mayors  or 

distinguish  between  those  who  were  not  to  sell  their  labor  for  more 
than  the  fixed  sum,  and  those  who  were  limited  in  what  they  might 
charge  for  the  wares  which  their  labor  produced. 
»       l  Poulterers. 

144 


Fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

bailiffs  be  negligent  in  doing  execution  of  the  prem- 
ises, and  thereof  be  convict  before  our  justices,  by  us 
to  be  assigned,  then  the  same  mayors  and  bailiffs  shall 
be  compelled  by  the  same  justices  to  pay  the  treble 
s  of  the  thing  so  sold  to  the  party  damnified,  or  to  any 
other  in  default  of  him  that  will  pursue;  and  never- 
theless toward  us  they  shall  be  grievously  punished. 

Item,  because  that  many  valiant  beggars,  as  long 
as  they  may  live  of  begging,  do  refuse  to  labor, 

10  giving  themselves  to  idleness  and  vice,  and  sometime 
to  theft  and  other  abominations;  none  upon  the 
said  pain  of  imprisonment  shall,  under  the  color  of 
pity  or  alms,  give  any  thing  to  such,  which  may 
labor,  or  presume  to  favor  them  toward  their  de- 

ts  sires,  so  that  thereby  they  may  be  compelled  to 
labor  for  their  necessary  living. 

We  command  you,  firmly  enjoining,  that  all  and 
singular  the  premises  in  the  cities,  boroughs,  market 
towns,  seaports,  and  other  places  in  your  bailiwick, 

30  where  you  shall  think  expedient,  as  well  within 
liberties  as  without,  you  do  cause  to  be  publicly 
proclaimed,  and  to  be  observed  and  duly  put  in 
execution  as  aforesaid;  and  this  by  no  means  omit, 
as  you  regard  us  and  the  common  weal  of  our  realm, 

as  and  would  save  yourself  harmless.  Witness  the 
king  at  Westminster,  the  i8th  day  of  June.  By 
the  king  himself  and  the  whole  council. 

Like  writs  are  directed  to  the  sheriffs  throughout 
England. 

US 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

The  king  to  the  reverend  father  in  Christ  W.  by 
the  same  grace  bishop  of  Winchester,  greeting. 
"Because  a  great  part  of  the  people,"  as  before, 
until  "for  their  necessary  living,"1  and  then  thus: 

s  And  therefore  we  entreat  you  that  the  premises  in 
every  of  the  churches,  and  other  places  of  your  dio- 
cese, which  you  shall  think  expedient,  you  do  cause 
to  be  published;  directing  the  parsons,  vicars, 
ministers  of  such  churches,  and  others  under  you, 

10  to  exhort  and  invite  their  parishioners  by  salutary 
admonitions,  to  labor,  and  to  observe  the  ordinances 
aforesaid,  as  the  present  necessity  requireth:  and 
that  you  do  likewise  moderate  the  stipendiary  chap- 
lains of  your  said  diocese,  who,  as  it  is  said,  do  now 

is  in  like  manner  refuse  to  serve  without  an  excessive 
salary;  and  compel  them  to  serve  for  the  accus- 
tomed salary,  as  it  behooveth  them,  under  the  pain 
of  suspension  and  interdict.  And  this  by  no  means 
omit,  as  you  regard  us  and  the  common  weal  of  our 

ao  said  realm.  Witness,  etc.,  as  above.  By  the  king 
himself  and  the  whole  council. 

Like  letters  of  request  are  directed  to  the  several 
bishops  of  England,  and  to  the  keeper  of  the  spirit- 
ualties of  the  archbishopric  of  Canterbury,  during 

as  the  vacancy  of  the  see,  under  the  same  date. 

7.  Statute  of  Laborers.  1351.  (French  text  and 
translation  in  Statutes  of  the  Realm,  I,  311- 
3I3-) 

1  The  complete  text  of  the  Ordinance  is  thus  indicated. 
146 


Fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

Whereas  late  against  the  malice  of  servants,  which 
were  idle,  and  not  willing  to  serve  after  the  pestilence, 
without  taking  excessive  wages,  it  was  ordained  by 
our  lord  the  king,  and  by  the  assent  of  the  prelates, 
s  nobles,  and  other  of  his  council,  that  such  manner 
of  servants,  as  well  men  as  women,  should  be  bound 
to  serve,  receiving  salary  and  wages,  accustomed 
in  places  where  they  ought  to  serve  in  the  twentieth 
year  of  the  reign  of  the  king  that  now  is,  or  five  or 

10  six  years  before;  and  that  the  same  servants  refus- 
ing to  serve  in  such  manner  should  be  punished  by 
imprisonment  of  their  bodies,  as  in  the  said  statute 
is  more  plainly  contained:  whereupon  commissions 
were  made  to  divers  people  in  every  county  to  in- 

15  quire  and  punish  all  them  which  offend  against  the 
same:  and  now  forasmuch  as  it  is  given  the  king  to 
understand  in  this  present  parliament,  by  the  petition 
of  the  commonalty,  that  the  said  servants  having 
no  regard  to  the  said  ordinance,  but  to  their  ease 

>o  and  singular  covetise,  do  withdraw  themselves  to 
serve  great  men  and  other,  unless  they  have  livery 
and  wages  to  the  double  or  treble  of  that  they  were 
wont  to  take  the  said  twentieth  year,  and  before, 
to  the  great  damage  of  the  great  men,  and  impover- 

as  ishing  of  all  the  said  commonalty,  whereof  the  said 
commonalty  prayeth  remedy :  wherefore  in  the  said 
parliament,  by  the  assent  of  the  said  prelates,  earls, 
barons,  and  other  great  men,  and  of  the  same  com- 
monalty there  assembled,  to  refrain  the  malice  of 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

the  said  servants,  be  ordained  and  established  the 
things  underwritten: 

First,  that  carters,  ploughmen,  drivers  of  the 
plough,  shepherds,  swineherds,  deies,1  and  all  other 
5  servants,  shall  take  liveries  and  wages,  accustomed 
the  said  twentieth  year,  or  four  years  before;  so 
that  in  the  country  where  wheat  was  wont  to  be 
given,  they  shall  take  for  the  bushel  ten  pence,  or 
wheat  at  the  will  of  the  giver,  till  it  be  otherwise 

»>  ordained.  And  that  they  be  allowed  to  serve  by 
a  whole  year,  or  by  other  usual  terms,  and  not  by 
the  day;  and  that  none  pay  in  the  time  of  sarcling2 
or  hay-making  but  a  penny  the  day;  and  a  mower 
of  meadows  for  the  acre  five  pence,  or  by  the  day 

is  five  pence;  and  reapers  of  corn  in  the  first  week  of 
August  two  pence,  and  the  second  three  pence,  and 
so  till  the  end  of  August,  and  less  in  the  country 
where  less  was  wont  to  be  given,  without  meat  or 
drink,  or  other  courtesy  to  be  demanded,  given,  or 

ao  taken;  and  that  such  workmen  bring  openly  in 
their  hands  to  the  merchant  -  towns  their  instru- 
ments, and  there  shall  be  hired  in  a  common  place 
and  not  privy. 

Item,  that  none  take  for  the  threshing  of  a  quarter 

35  of  wheat  or  rye  over  2d.  ob.3  and  the  quarter  of  bar- 
ley, beans,  pease,  and  oats,  id.  ob.  if  so  much  were 
wont  to  be  given;  and  in  the  country  where  it  is 
used  to  reap  by  certain  sheaves,  and  to  thresh  by 

1  Dairy-maids.  *  Hoeing.  *  Two  and  a  half  pence. 

148 


Fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

certain  bushels,  they  shall  take  no  more  nor  in  other 
manner  than  was  wont  the  said  twentieth  year  and 
before;  and  that  the  same  servants  be  sworn  two 
times  in  the  year  before  lords,  stewards,  bailiffs, 
s  and  constables  of  every  town,  to  hold  and  do  these 
ordinances;  and  that  none  of  them  go  out  of  the 
town,  where  he  dwelleth  in  the  winter,  to  serve 
the  summer,  if  he  may  serve  in  the  same  town, 
taking  as  before  is  said.  Saving  that  the  people  of 

10  the  counties  of  Stafford,  Lancaster  and  Derby,  and 
people  of  Craven,  and  of  the  marches  of  Wales  and 
Scotland,  and  other  places,  may  come  in  time  of 
August,  and  labor  in  other  counties,  and  safely  re- 
turn, as  they  were  wont  to  do  before  this  time: 

is  and  that  those,  which  refuse  to  take  such  oath  or 
to  perform  that  that  they  be  sworn  to,  or  have 
taken  upon  them,  shall  be  put  in  the  stocks  by  the 
said  lords,  stewards,  bailiffs,  and  constables  of  the 
towns  by  three  days  or  more,  or  sent  to  the  next 

30  gaol,  there  to  remain,  till  they  will  justify  them- 
selves. And  that  stocks  be  made  in  every  town  for 
such  occasion  betwixt  this  and  the  feast  of  Pente- 
cost. 

Item,   that  carpenters,   masons,   and  tilers,   and 

as  other  workmen  of  houses,  shall  not  take  by  the  day 
for  their  work,  but  in  manner  as  they  were  wont, 
that  is  to  say:  a  master  carpenter  $d.  and  another 
2d.',  a  master  free-stone  mason  ^d.  and  other  masons 
3<i.  and  their  servants  id.  ob.;  tilers  $d.  and  their 

149 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

knaves  id.  ob.;  and  other  coverers  of  fern  and  straw 
3<f.  and  their  knaves  id.  ob.;  plasterers  and  other 
workers  of  mudwalls,  and  their  knaves,  by  the  same 
manner,  without  meat  or  drink,  15.  from  Easter  to 
s  Saint  Michael;  and  from  that  time  less,  according 
to  the  rate  and  discretion  of  the  justices,  which 
should  be  thereto  assigned:  and  that  they  that 
make  carriage  by  land  or  by  water,  shall  take  no 
more  for  such  carriage  to  be  made,  than  they  were 

10  wont  the  said  twentieth  year,  and  four  years  before. 

Item,  that  cordwainers  and  shoemakers  shall  not 

sell  boots  nor  shoes,  nor  none  other  thing  touching 

their  mystery,  in  any  other  manner  than  they  were 

wont  the  said  twentieth  year:  item,  that  goldsmiths, 

is  saddlers,  horsesmiths,  spurriers,  tanners,  curriers, 
tawers  of  leather,  tailors,  and  other  workmen,  ar- 
tificers, and  laborers,  and  all  other  servants  here  not 
specified,  shall  be  sworn  before  the  justices,  to  do 
and  use  their  crafts  and  offices  in  the  manner  they 

ao  were  wont  to  do  the  said  twentieth  year,  and  in 
time  before,  without  refusing  the  same  because  of 
this  ordinance;  and  if  any  of  the  said  servants, 
laborers,  workmen,  or  artificers,  after  such  oath 
made,  come  against  this  ordinance,  he  shall  be 

as  punished  by  fine  and  ransom,  and  imprisonment 
after  the  discretion  of  the  justices. 

Item,  that  the  said  stewards,  bailiffs,  and  con- 
stables of  the  said  towns,  be  sworn  before  the  same 
justices,  to  inquire  diligently  by  all  the  good  ways 

150 


Fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

they  may,  of  all  them  that  come  against  this  ordi- 
nance, and  to  certify  the  same  justices  of  their 
names  at  all  times,  when  they  shall  come  into  the 
country  to  make  their  sessions;  so  that  the  same 
j  justices  on  certificate  of  the  same  stewards,  bailiffs, 
and  constables,  of  the  names  of  the  rebels,  shall  do 
them  to  be  attached  by  their  body,  to  be  before  the 
said  justices,  to  answer  of  such  contempts,  so  that 
they  make  fine  and  ransom  to  the  king,  in  case  they 

10  be  Attainted;  and  moreover  to  be  commanded  to 
prison,  there  to  remain  till  they  have  found  surety, 
to  serve,  and  take,  and  do  their  work,  and  to  sell 
things  vendible  in  the  manner  aforesaid;  and  in 
case  that  any  of  them  come  against  his  oath,  and 

is  be  thereof  attainted,  he  shall  have  imprisonment  of 
forty  days;  and  if  he  be  another  time  convict,  he 
shall  have  imprisonment  of  a  quarter  of  a  year,  so 
that  at  every  time  that  he  offendeth  and  is  convict,  he 
shall  have  double  pain :  and  that  the  same  justices,  at 

20  every  time  that  they  come  [into  the  country],  shall 
inquire  of  the  said  stewards,  bailiffs,  and  constables, 
if  they  have  made  a  good  and  lawful  certificate,  or 
any  conceal  for  gift,  procurement,  or  affinity,  and 
punish  them  by  fine  and  ransom,  if  they  be  found 

as  guilty:  and  that  the  same  justices  have  power  to 
inquire  and  make  due  punishment  of  the  said 
ministers,  laborers,  workmen,  and  other  servants; 
and  also  of  hostelers,  harbergers,1  and  of  those  that 

1  Those  who  provide  lodging. 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

sell  victual  by  retail,  or  other  things  here  not  speci- 
fied, as  well  at  the  suit  of  the  party,  as  by  present- 
ment, and  to  hear  and  determine,  and  put  the  things 
in  execution  by  the  exigend  after  the  first  capias,1 

s  if  need  be,  and  to  depute  other  under  them,  as  many 
and  such  as  they  shall  see  best  for  the  keeping  of 
the  same  ordinance;  and  that  they  which  will  sue 
against  such  servants,  workmen,  laborers,  [and  ar- 
tificers], for  excess  taken  of  them,  and  they  be 

jo  thereof  attainted  at  their  suit,  they  shall  have 
again  such  excess.  And  in  case  that  none  will  sue, 
to  have  again  such  excess,  then  it  shall  be  levied 
of  the  said  servants,  laborers,  workmen,  and  arti- 
ficers, and  delivered  to  the  collectors  of  the  Quin- 

is  zime,2  in  alleviation  of  the  towns  where  such  excesses 
were  taken.3 

8.  Writ    Appointing    Justices    of    Laborers.     1356. 
(Latin  text  in  Putnam,  The  Enforcement  of  the 
Statutes    of   Laborers,    Appendix,    pp.     24-25. 
«o  Translation  by  the  editor.) 

1  The  capias  was  the  writ  in  civil  suits  which  ordered  the  taking 
into  custody  of  the  defendant.     An  exigend  might  follow  an  unsuc- 
cessful capias,  and  was  the  writ  preliminary  to  outlawry,  outlawry 
always  being  the  measure  of  last  resort  against  the  party  who  could 
•5  not  be  produced  in  court. 

*  The  tax  known  as  the  "Fifteenth." 

8  The  remainder  of  the  Statute  contains  sundry  detailed  directions 
to  sheriffs  and  justices,  and  a  clause  directing  that  "the  said  jus- 
tices [of  the  peace]  make  their  sessions  in  all  the  counties  of  England 
30  at  the  least  four  times  a  year,"  a  practice  which  soon  developed  into 
Quarter  Sessions. 

152 


Fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

The  king  to  his  dear  and  faithful  Robert  Fraun- 
ceys  and  Thomas  Adam  of  Ashbourne,  greeting. 
Know  that  we  have  appointed  you  for  the  purpose 
of  keeping  and  causing  to  be  kept  in  the  county  of 

s  Derby,  inside  and  outside  the  liberties,  the  ordi- 
nance and  statute  of  laborers,  artisans,  and  ser- 
vants, (in  all  and  singular  their  articles),  which  were 
made  in  our  council  and  parliament  recently  held 
at  Westminster  for  the  common  good  of  our  king- 

10  dom  of  England;  also  to  inquire  about  sheriffs, 
seneschals,  bailiffs,  ministers,  and  any  others  who, 
under  color  of  said  ordinance  and  statute,  have 
arrested  such  laborers,  artisans,  and  servants  and 
then,  by  their  own  authority,  freed  them  as  a  result 

ts  of  fines  and  ransoms  appropriated  to  their  own  use, 
without  having  observed  the  regulations  contained 
in  said  ordinance  and  statute;  also  to  hear  and  de- 
termine according  to  the  force  and  effect  of  said 
ordinance  and  statute  everything  which  has  been 

ao  undertaken  in  said  county  (inside  or  outside  the 
liberties)  against  the  form  of  said  statute  and  ordi- 
nance, either  at  our  suit  or  that  of  any  others  who 
wish  to  prosecute  or  make  complaint  before  you. 
Moreover,  we  have  appointed  you  our  justices  to 

as  hear  and,  by  a  just  fine,  to  determine  all  indict- 
ments and  processes  touching  such  laborers,  arti- 
sans, and  servants  brought  before  our  justices  last 
assigned  to  this  same  county  and  not  yet  concluded. 
And  therefore  we  command  you  to  attend  to  all 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

and  singular  the  premises  at  a  set  day  and  place 
which  you  will  provide  for  the  purpose,  and  that 
you  hear  and  determine  these  matters  to  the  end 
of  doing  therein  what  pertains  to  justice  according 
s  to  the  force  and  effect  of  the  said  ordinance  and 
statute,  saving  to  us  the  amercements  and  other 
things  due  to  us  thence.  .  .  .  Witness  the  King  at 
Westminster,  the  tenth  day  of  March.  By  the 
council. 

10      Those  named  below  have  similar  commissions  in 

the  counties  and  towns  following,  to  wit : l  .  .  . 

9.  Proceedings  before  the  Justices  of  Laborers.     1355; 

1358.     (Latin  text  in  Putnam,  Enforcement  of 

the  Statutes    of  Laborers,   Appendix,   pp.    174, 

is  175;    152-154.     Translation  by  the  editor.) 

a.  Hereford.     [1355.] 

The  jurors  make  presentment  to  the  effect  that 
John  Monyword  of  Hereford,  weaver,  took  from 
John  Spicer  of  the  same  [county]  an  excess  charge 

20  for  his  work  in  the  twenty-eighth  year  [of  the  reign], 
to  wit,  2-1  /2d.  for  an  ell,  and  that  he  is  a  common 
taker  of  excess.  .  .  . 

Nicholas  Webbe,  weaver,  Robert  Plassh,  weaver, 
[eight  other  weavers]  took  more  for  their  work, 

35  against  the  ordinance,  etc.,2  than  they  were  ac- 
customed to  take  in  the  twentieth  and  twenty-first 

1  This  commission  was  sent  to  "  II  counties,  12  towns,  18  liberties, 
I  group  of  wapentakes." — Putnam,  op.  cit.,  Ap.,  p.  41. 

*  In  this  and  similar  connections  the  et  cetera  indicates  that  the 
30  full  formal  or  legal  phraseology  has  been  curtailed. 

154 


Fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

years  of  the  reign  of  King  Edward  III.,  and  they  are 
common  and  notorious  takers  of  excess. 

[One  hundred  and  two  other  individuals  are  pre- 
sented for  similar  offenses,  representing  the  following 

5  occupations:  carpenter,  plasterer,  spinster,  common 
laborer  (male  and  female),  kempster,  knitter  (?),  day- 
laborer,  water-carrier  (female),  carder,  servant  bound 
for  three  years,  weaver  (male  and  female),  huckster, 
tailor,  furbisher,  mower,  thresher,  furrier,  dressmaker, 

10  reaper  (female),  parchment-maker,  glover ,  fuller ,  tiler.}  1 

Hence  the  sheriff  was  ordered  to  cause  all  the 

above-named   artisans,  laborers,   and   servants  to 

come  before  us  here  the  f ollowing  Tuesday  to  answer 

to  the  lord  king  for  their  said  excess  charges  and 

15  trespasses.  And  all  the  weavers,  fullers,  and  car- 
penters came  of  their  own  accord,  and  on  being 
asked  how  they  wished  to  acquit  themselves  of  the 
excesses  and  trespasses  charged  against  them  as 
appear  above,  they  did  not  deny  the  excesses,  but 

20  sought  admittance  to  the  lord  king's  grace.  And 
they  were  allowed  to  pay  fine,  etc.  Pledges  of  the 
fines.  .  .  . 

[Five  pledges  are  named;    then  follow  the  sums  of 
the  fines  of  43  delinquents,  beginning  with  John  Mony- 

25  word,  i os.;  half  mark,  55.,  2s.,  55.,  4od.,  I2d.,  ijd., 
js.,  3s.,  2s.,  2s.,  half  mark,  js.,  4od.,  4od.,  3s.,  js.,  2s.t 
6d.,  6d.,  6d.,  4od.,  i8d.,  2s.,  2s.,  I2d.,  2s.,  I2d.,  2s., 

1  This  is  Miss  Putnam's  summary,  except  that  the  editor  has  at- 
tempted to  translate  the  names  of  the  occupations. 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

I2d.,  43.,  4od.,  half  mark,  45.,  8s.,  I2d.,  45.,  8s.,  half 
mark,  8s. ,  12 d.,  js.] l 
6.  Thursday  [Cornwall.  1358.] 
The  jurors  make  presentment  to  the  effect  that 

s  John  Clegh  Jr.,  Nichola  Karn,  Dionisia  Trethak, 
Thomas  Tremenhir,  Johanna  Nichol,  Richard  Gor- 
ben,  John  Coly  [sixteen  other  names],  John  Sebill, 
tailor,  John  Henri  [thirty-one  other  names],  John,  a 
servant  of  Henry  Nanfan,  Richard  Polgrim  [five 

10  other  names],  John,  a  servant  of  Thomas  Mewes, 
took  excessive  wages,  prices,  and  profits  in  their 
divers  works  and  wares  against  the  form  of  the  lord 
king's  statute,  etc.  Hence  the  sheriff  was  com- 
manded to  attach  them  against  Friday  at  Penryn, 

is  that  they  then  be  before  the  said  justices,  etc.  .  .  . 
Friday. 

The  sheriff  answered  that  the  said  John  Clegh, 
Nichola  Karn,  and  all  the  others  named  above  had 
been  individually  attached  by  their  separate  plevins.2 

20  ...  The  said  John  Clegh  Jr.,  Nichola  Karn,  Dionisia 
Trethak,  and  Thomas  Tremenhir  did  not  come. 
Therefore  their  pledges  in  mercy,  etc.  And  the 
sheriff  was  commanded  to  arrest  them  against 
Saturday  next  at  Helleston  before  the  said  justices, 

as  etc.  And  the  said  Johanna  Nichol,  Richard  Gor- 
ben,  John  Coly,  and  the  others  named  above  came 
and  said  that  they  were  not  guilty  of  that  which 
the  said  jurors  presented  above,  and  placed  them- 

1  Miss  Putnam's  summary.  *  Pledges  or  warrants. 

156 


Fourteenth-Century  Labor  Problem 

selves  upon  their  country,  etc.  Therefore  the 
sheriff  was  ordered  to  cause  twelve  [jurors]  to  come 
to  Helleston,  etc.,  the  next  Saturday  before  the  said 
justices,  etc.  .  .  . 

s  Saturday. 

The  sheriff  answered  that  the  said  John  Clegh 
Jr.,  Nichola  Karn,  Dionisia  Trethak,  and  Thomas 
Tremenhir  had  been  arrested  and  were  in  custody. 
Who,  being  required,  came;  and,  asked  about  the 

10  aforesaid  presentment,  said  that  they  were  not 
guilty  and  put  themselves  on  their  country  etc., 
as  the  said  Johanna  Nichol,  Richard  Gorben,  John 
Coly,  and  the  other  their  above-named  associates 
had  done.  Hence  the  sheriff  was  commanded  forth- 

15  with  to  summon  twelve,  etc.,  to  make  a  jury,  etc. 
The  jurors  drawn,  selected,  and  sworn  on  behalf 
of  the  lord  king  and  the  aforesaid  parties  acquitted 
the  said  John  Clegh,  Nichola  Karn,  Dionisia  Tre- 
thak, and  Thomas  Tremenhir  of  the  excesses  and 

ao  trespasses  presented  above.  Therefore  let  them  go 
quit  etc.  And  the  said  Johanna  Nichol,  Richard 
Gorben,  John  Coly,  and  the  other  their  above-named 
associates  were  found  guilty.  Therefore  they  were 
summoned  and  made  fine  as  appears  in  the  estreats  * 

as  sent  to  the  king's  exchequer. 

1  Certified  lists  of  fines. 


PROBLEM  V 

V. — Freedom  of  Speech  Under  Elizabeth  and 
the   Stuarts 


Freedom    of    Speech    Under    Elizabeth 
and  the   Stuarts 

I.   THE   HISTORICAL   SETTING    OP   THE    PROBLEM 

IN  the  history  of  Parliamentary  liberties  freedom  of 
speech  makes  about  the  longest  story.1  One  of  the 
first  rights  assumed,  it  was  almost  the  last  important 
right  to  be  won.  Only  a  short  while  after  there  began 
to  be  such  a  term  as  Parliament,  and  almost  a  century  be- 
fore the  institution  to  which  that  term  was  applied  had 
taken  on  regular  form,  there  emerged  the  notion  that 
members  of  that  body  should  have  something  like  free- 
dom of  speech.  When  the  magnates  in  1237  "withdrew 
to  a  private  place  to  consult"  and  discuss  measures 
in  the  absence  of  the  King,  they  were  asking  for  liberty 
of  debate.  That  liberty  was  unlikely  to  be  denied  them 
for  several  reasons.  They  would  probably  not  be  checked 
in  any  way  so  long  as  they  talked  in  most  part  about 

1  This  sketch  is  based  chiefly  upon  the  rolls  of  Parliament,  with 
some  examination  of  such  chronicles  as  were  available.  If  it  is 
fuller  on  the  beginnings  of  privilege  than  on  its  later  history,  it  is  be- 
cause an  understanding  of  the  early  precedents  is  necessary  for  any 
just  comprehension  of  the  later  struggle.  The  paper  is  necessarily 
neither  complete  nor  final.  The  subject  has,  however,  been  dealt 
with  quite  too  briefly  in  constitutional  histories,  and  in  the  main  their 
treatments  do  not  afford  an  adequate  background  for  a  judgment 
of  Elizabeth's  and  James's  policy  in  the  matter. 

161 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

money,  so  long  as  their  principal  business  was  to  grant 
what  the  King  wished.  They  were  the  more  unlikely  to 
be  checked  because  the  distinction  between  the  lords  who 
belonged  to  Parliament  and  those  who  belonged  to  the 
Council  was  so  slow  in  becoming  fixed.  Not  until  the 
Upper  House  was  a  definite  body  quite  cut  off  from  the 
Council  was  there  any  need  of  a  right  to  speak  freely. 
Such  a  right  belonged  naturally  to  councilors.  What  was 
said  in  Council  by  way  of  criticism  of  administration  was 
advice;  what  was  said  in  another  place  might  be  regarded 
as  censure.  And  even  when  the  Lords  had  become  a 
separate  body  their  utterances  as  members  of  the  Upper 
House  were  not  likely  to  raise  royal  objection.  Opposi- 
tion on  their  part  would  be  so  serious  that  they  would 
not  venture  to  oppose  the  sovereign  except  when  they 
could  present  a  united  front.  Hence  the  question  of  free 
speech  seldom  arose  in  the  Upper  House.  As  for  the 
Commons,  they  pulled  so  weak  an  oar  that  the  King  might 
not  deem  them  worth  calling  to  account. 

There  was  no  reason  then  why  freedom  of  speech  should 
become  an  issue  in  the  early  history  of  Parliament.  No 
question  was  raised  about  it.  It  was  not  probable 
that  it  would  be  denied  or  asserted  in  the  face  of  denial 
until  new  conditions  arose.  In  the  reign  of  Richard  II. 
and  Henry  IV.  those  new  conditions  appear.  The  long 
factional  strife  between  almost  evenly  balanced  forces 
which  begins  in  the  closing  years  of  Edward  III.  and 
closes  only  with  the  death  of  Henry  IV.  was  peculiarly 
fitted  for  the  development  of  a  less  obvious  right  such  as 
freedom  of  speech.  It  was  a  time  when  to-day's  leader 
might  prove  to-morrow's  victim  at  Smithfield.  What  was 
said  in  Parliament  might  prove  treason  unless  guarded 
by  privilege.  A  second  condition  was  the  discontent 
arising  from  heavy  taxes.  Edward  III.'s  wars  cost  money 

162 


Freedom  of  Speech 

which  the  "poor  Commons"  found  it  hard  to  pay,  but 
had  to  keep  right  on  paying  through  the  reign  of  Richard 
II.  When  there  are  heavy  taxes  to  pay,  all  things  look 
dark  to  those  who  have  to  vote  them,  and  the  fault  is 
believed  to  lie  necessarily  with  the  administration.  The 
complaints  and  delay  of  the  Commons  were  sure  to  pro- 
voke royal  resentment.  A  third  condition  was  the  evolu- 
tion of  Parliamentary  machinery.  A  clerk  appears  early 
in  the  fourteenth  century  and  a  spokesman  of  the  Com- 
mons before  the  middle  of  the  century;  elementary  forms 
of  procedure  begin  to  become  regular.  With  the  evolu- 
tion of  offices  and  forms  privileges  were  sure  to  follow.  A 
fourth  condition  was  the  enforced  subordination  of  Henry 
IV.  to  his  Parliament,  a  result  of  the  manner  of  his  acces- 
sion and  of  other  causes  which  cannot  briefly  be  explained. 
Such  conditions  were  likely  to  breed  some  notion  of 
free  speech.  That  notion  is  first  to  be  seen  in  the  opposi- 
tion to  the  King's  assumption  that  the  Commons  must 
discuss  only  those  matters  laid  before  them,  an  assump- 
tion particularly  characteristic  of  Richard's  rule.  Parlia- 
ment had  just  reached  that  point  where  the  right  of 
petition  was  beginning  in  some  degree  at  least  to  be  a 
right  of  initiation.1  Hence  when  Richard's  chancellors 
again  and  again  told  the  knights  and  burgesses  to  stick 
to  their  business  and  not  to  meddle  with  "foreign  mat- 
ters"— i.  e.,  matters  other  than  those  laid  before  them — 
there  was  natural  disappointment.  The  King  wished 
them  not  to  meddle  because  he  wished  money  at  once 
and  because  he  had  not  been  used  to  meddling.  He  was 
so  vexed  with  them  2  that  in  1387  he  appealed  to  the 

1  /.  e.,  of  initiating  laws,  rather  than  merely  passing  those  proposed 
to  them. 

*  Richard  had  been  stirred  in  special  degree  by  the  attack  of  Par- 
liament on  Michael  de  la  Pole,  in  1386. 

163 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

judges.  Had  Parliament  a  right,  he  asked,  when  the 
King  had  assigned  certain  subjects  for  discussion,  to 
neglect  those  matters  and  deal  with  others?  The  judges 
answered  the  King  as  he  wished,  that  Parliament  ought 
not  to  diverge  from  the  program  set  before  it.  By  a 
judicial  decision  the  King  had  stopped  the  Commons' 
interference.  That  decision,  reversed  in  1388,  reaffirmed 
in  1397,  was  finally  quashed  at  the  beginning  of  Henry 
IV.'s  reign.  From  that  time  on  it  remained  settled  that 
Parliament  need  not  hold  fast  to  a  set  plan  of  action. 
Indeed,  in  the  very  reign  of  Henry  IV.  (1406)  the  words 
of  the  Commons  seemed  to  carry  the  theory  of  independ- 
ent action  further.  When  they  learned  that  the  King 
was  hurt  because  they  "had  talked  otherwise  than  they 
ought  about  his  royal  person"  they  sent  word  through 
the  Speaker  begging  to  be  excused  and  declaring  that 
they  had  "neither  said  nor  done  anything  concerning  the 
royal  person  in  any  other  way  than  loyal  lieges  ought  to 
do  and  talk  for  the  honor  and  advantage  of  our  lord 
the  King  and  of  his  whole  realm."  Not  only  could  they 
talk  as  they  liked  about  matters  in  general,  they  seemed 
to  say,  but  it  might  be  their  duty  to  discuss  the  affairs 
of  the  royal  person.  Had  they  meant  as  much  as  that, 
had  they  understood  the  implications  of  what  they  said, 
or  lived  up  to  them,  these  words  might  have  been  a  sig- 
nificant starting-point.  That  they  did  not  understand 
is  clear  from  the  course  of  after  events. 

The  notion  of  free  speech  also  reveals  itself  in  the 
growth  of  the  idea  that  the  King  should  hear  from  Parlia- 
ment only  through  approved  channels.  In  1376  Parlia- 
ment had  provided  that  in  the  Council  chosen  members 
should  report  to  the  King  what  was  going  on,  and  only 
they.  The  distinction  between  the  Council  and  the 
Upper  House  was  then  so  recent  that  the  notion  of  such 

164 


Freedom  of  Speech 

a  principle  of  action  as  to  the  Council  suggests  a  similar 
principle  as  to  Parliament.  And  indeed  there  is  a  bit 
of  evidence  in  the  very  same  year  that  the  members  of 
the  Commons  thought  they  had  a  right  to  be  heard  by 
the  King  only  through  their  Speaker.  They  considered 
at  some  length  who  should  be  their  Speaker.  "Careful 
they  were, .  .  .  for  they  doubted  certain  of  the  King's  sec- 
retaries, who,  they  thought,  would  have  disclosed  their 
drifts,  for  that  they  were  captious  and  in  great  and  special 
favor  with  the  King."1  The  consciousness  of  such  a  right 
comes  out  again  in  the  poem,  "Richard  the  Redeless," 
ascribed  to  William  Langland  and  written  in  the  year  of 
Richard's  deposition.  Some  members  of  Parliament,  he 
iells  us — for  he  has  been  discussing  Parliament — were 
tattlers,  and  went  to  the  King  and  told  him  who  were 
his  friends  and  who  were  his  foes,  men  who  for  their 
speeches  deserved  well.  Two  years  later  the  principle 
was  more  definitely  recognized  when  Henry  IV.  declared, 
in  answer  to  the  Commons'  request  through  Speaker 
Savage,  that  it  was  his  will  that  the  Commons  should 
have  deliberation  and  advice,  and  that  he  would  not  hear 
or  give  credence  to  people  who  for  their  own  advance- 
ment informed  him  ahead  of  time  of  what  had  been 
determined  in  Parliament.2 

*Stow's  translation  of  the  St.  Albans  Chronicle,  Archctologia, 
XXIL,  213. 

1  In  1407,  when  the  Commons  stood  out  for  their  right  of  initia- 
tion of  money  grants,  their  words  touched  freedom  of  speech.  "  It 
is  lawful,"  they  said,  "for  the  Lords  to  discuss  among  themselves 
assembled  ...  in  the  absence  of  the  King  concerning  the  estate 
of  the  realm  and  the  remedy  needful  to  it.  And  that  in  like  manner 
it  is  lawful  for  the  Commons  on  their  part.  .  .  ."  Of  the  earlier  his- 
tory of  money  grants  an  interesting  account  could  be  written,  and 
such  an  account  would  reveal  several  examples  of  the  notion  that 
discussion  should  be  independent  of  the  King. 

165 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

The  notion  shows  itself,  thirdly,  in  the  Speaker's  de- 
mand for  himself  and  for  the  Commons  of  certain  definite 
immunities.  Such  a  demand  was  sure  to  come  soon  after 
a  speaker  appeared.  The  first  recorded  protestation  be- 
longs to  1377.  In  that  year  Peter  de  la  Mare  declared 
that  what  he  had  to  say  he  would  say  not  of  his  own 
initiative,  but  on  the  motion,  assent,  and  expressed  wish 
of  all  the  Commons  there  present,  and  if  he  should  hap- 
pen to  say  anything  not  by  the  assent  of  his  companions 
he  asked  that  it  should  be  amended  by  them  before  he 
left  Parliament.  The  raison  d'etre  of  this  protestation  is 
easily  seen.  De  la  Mare  had  spent  the  best  part  of  two 
years  in  prison  for  what  he  and  his  associates  had  said 
and  done  in  the  Good  Parliament.  He  was  taking  no 
chances.1  This  protestation  was  merely  a  measure  of  self- 
protection.  The  protestation  of  1378  was  a  good  deal 
more.  Speaker  Pickering  asked  in  behalf  of  the  Com- 
mons that  if  he  should  say  anything  which  was  to  the 
prejudice,  damage,  slander,  or  hurt  of  the  King,  of  his 
crown,  or  to  the  diminution  of  the  honor  and  position 
of  the  Lords,  it  should  be  regarded  as  not  having  been 
said.2  In  1397  the  protestation  was  entered  upon  the 
rolls,  and  in  1399  in  the  first  Parliament  of  Henry 
IV.  Fs  reign  Speaker  Cheyne  added  to  the  wording  of 
his  request  the  sentence,  "And  that  they  [his  com- 

1  But  the  phrasing  of  the  statement  (Rot.  Parl.  Ill,  5)  suggests 
that  this  was  by  no  means  the  first  protestation. 

*  Space  forbids  tracing  the  history  of  protestation.  In  1379 
the  Speaker  asked  that  if  he  should  say  or  do  anything  to 
the  displeasure  of  our  lord  the  King  the  Commons  were  not 
to  be  held  responsible.  Speaker  Bussy  in  1397  asked  to  be 
excused  if  he  should  say  anything  to  the  displeasure  of  the 
King  or  against  his  royal  estate  or  regal  power,  words  which 
suggest  that  the  protestation  was  phrased  with  some  regard  to 
the  situation  at  that  time. 

1 66 


Freedom  of  Speech 

panions]  should  have  their  liberty  in  Parliament  as  be- 
fore this  time."  l 

The  conception  of  free  speech  comes  out  also  in  the 
opposition  raised  to  the  punishment  by  the  King  of 
members  for  what  they  said  in  Parliament.  The  earliest 
instance  of  anything  like  this  is  the  well-known  case  of 
Peter  de  la  Mare,  already  adverted  to.  Peter  was  the 
Speaker  of  the  Good  Parliament,  and  as  leader  of  the 
knights  who  were  leagued  with  the  Black  Prince,  had 
gained  the  ill-will  of  the  Court,  of  John  of  Gaunt,  Duke 
of  Lancaster,  and  of  the  militant  Alice  Perrers,  mistress 
of  Edward  III.  When  the  Good  Parliament  had  ad- 
journed and  the  Black  Prince  had  gone  to  his  reward, 
the  reactionaries,  as  we  should  call  them  to-day,  took 
charge.  De  la  Mare  was  shut  up  in  prison.  Now  it  will 
not  do  to  say  that  De  la  Mare  was  confined  only  for  what 
he  had  said.2  Rather  it  was  for  what  he  had  said  and 
done.  Indeed,  it  is  more  nearly  true  to  say  that  in  the 
struggle,  which  amounted  almost  to  civil  war,  one  faction 
had  got  the  upper  hand  and  naturally  put  the  leaders 
of  the  other  in  prison.  What  is  interesting  is  that  in  the 
reactionary  Parliament  that  met  just  after  De  la  Mare's 
imprisonment  there  were  a  few  members  who  sought  for 
his  liberation,  "since  the  said  Peter  was  ready  to  answer 

1  In  1410  the  King,  in  answer  to  the  Speaker's  protestation,  asked 
the  Commons  not  to  do  anything  or  talk  in  any  way  which  would 
not  be  honorable  or  would  not  promote  the  good  feeling  and  unity 
of  all  parties.  In  the  next  year  when  the  Speaker  made  his  pro- 
testation Henry  granted  him  "his  liberty  as  in  past  times,"  but 
went  on  to  say  that  he  did  not  wish  any  "novellerie"  in  this  Parlia- 
ment, but  to  be  as  free  as  his  ancestors.  Evidently  Henry  was 
wary,  as  Elizabeth  later,  of  granting  too  much. 

8  But  it  is  interesting  that  the  St.  Albans  Chronicle  says:  "And 
so  a  good  and  innocent  man  .  .  .  since  he  did  not  wish  to  cover  up 
the  truth,  was  greatly  wronged." — Chronicon  Anglia,  p.  105. 

167 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

all  things  objected  against  him  in  the  presence  of  the 
lords  who  had  come  to  Parliament."  Is  it  possible  that 
De  la  Mare's  friends  were  making  the  point  that  for  what 
he  had  said  in  Parliament  he  could  be  tried  only  there? 
Such  a  conception  was  later  to  prove  no  small  defense  of 
free  speech. 

Whatever  the  significance  of  the  De  la  Mare  case,  the 
objections  to  royal  interference  appear  clearly  in  1386 
and  1388.  In  the  earlier  year  Parliament,  alarmed  at 
rumors  of  royal  plots  against  its  safety,  addressed  the 
King.  The  members  declared  that  they  ought  to  be 
called  together  once  a  year  "into  the  highest  court,  in 
which  all  calmness  ought  to  shine  forth  without  any  anx- 
iety ...  in  order  to  reform  the  abuses  of  the  kingdom"  l 
.  .  .  and  with  wholesome  discussion  dispose  and  foresee 
how  the  burdens  of  the  kingdom  could  be  supported.1 
In  1388  when  the  Lords  Appellant  were  in  the  saddle  they 
made  the  charge  that  certain  men  whom  they  named — 
the  opposition  party — had  caused  the  King  to  drive  away 
from  his  Council  and  from  Parliament  such  men  as  moved 
for  good  government,  until  those  men  no  longer  dared  to 
speak  of  the  matter  nor  to  discuss  the  question  of  good 
government.3 

Richard  had  appealed  to  the  judges  in  1387  for  a  ruling. 

1  After  that  Parliament  had  adjourned,  the  King  called  the  judges 
together  at  Nottingham,  as  already  mentioned,  and  among  the 
questions  put  to  them  asked  one  that  has  a  bearing  in  this  connec- 
tion. Ought  men  to  be  punished,  he  inquired,  who  proposed  in 
Parliament  to  send  for  the  statute  concerning  the  deposition  of 
Edward  II.  Such  men,  the  judges  replied,  were  traitors.  Their 
ruling,  like  that  already  mentioned  reversed  and  reaffirmed,  was 
annulled  with  the  accession  of  Henry  IV. 

*  Knighton,  II,  217. 

•  The  Lords  Appellant  further  blamed  the  King  for  staying  away 
from  Parliament  until  he  was  assured  that  certain  men  would  cease 
talking  against  his  favorites. 

168 


Freedom  of  Speech 

What  he  did  in  1397  in  the  Haxey  case  was  much  the  same, 
save  that  it  was  a  question  of  punishing  speech  rather 
than  of  divergence  from  program.  He  had  been  angered 
at  the  beginning  of  the  session  when  he  heard  of  efforts 
to  rouse  the  Commons  against  the  proposed  expedition 
to  aid  the  King  of  France.  He  was  more  indignant 
when  he  learned  that  the  Commons  had  discussed  four 
questions  which  concerned  his  "regalie  et  roial  estat  et 
tibertee."  On  the  matter  of  the  four  points  he  addressed 
the  Lords,  complaining  in  particular  of  the  fourth  in  which 
the  expenses  of  the  King's  household  had  been  censured. 
He  was  grieved  "that  the  Commons  who  are  his  lieges 
should  mistake  or  presume  on  any  ordinance  of  govern- 
ment of  the  King  or  of  his  household."  He  wished  his 
opinion  communicated  to  the  Commons  and  asked  Lan- 
caster to  find  out  from  the  Speaker  who  had  presented 
the  bill.  The  guilt  was  put  upon  Thomas  Haxey,  a 
clergyman.  The  Commons  apologized  humbly  enough, 
"recognizing  well  that  such  matters  do  not  belong  at  all 
to  them,  but  only  to  the  King  and  to  his  ordaining." 
All  that  they  intended  was  that  the  Lords  should  ask  the 
King  to  consider  his  estate  and  do  what  was  pleasing  to 
him.  Richard  then  procured  a  judgment  by  the  Lords 
that  if  any  one  moved  or  stirred  up  the  Commons  to 
make  a  remedy  of  reform  or  anything  touching  our  gov- 
ernment or  regality  he  should  be  deemed  a  traitor.  He 
was  carrying  a  court  ruling  a  step  further  than  in  1387, 
and  was  giving  to  it  the  weight  of  Parliament.  Haxey 
was  tried  by  Parliament  and  condemned.  Early  in 
Henry  IV.'s  reign  the  judgment  was  reversed — Haxey 
had  been  pardoned  meantime — and  it  was  declared  that 
Haxey's  condemnation  had  been  against  law  and  practice 
hitherto  used  in  Parliament,  in  derogation  of  the  customs 
of  the  Commons. 

169 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

Clearly  the  conception  of  a  Parliamentary  right  of  free 
speech  had  made  progress  in  the  reigns  of  Richard  II. 
and  Henry  IV.  And  yet  the  sum  total  of  evidence  is 
disappointing.  It  would  be  hardly  worth  recording  and 
analyzing  in  this  brief  setting  were  it  not  that  these  early 
notions  and  precedents,  however  vague  they  seem  to  us, 
were  to  be  much  used  by  the  protagonists  of  privilege  at 
a  later  time.  Strong  bulwarks  of  liberty  have  sometimes 
been  erected  on  slight  foundations.  The  truth  is  that  in 
the  late  fourteenth  and  early  fifteenth  centuries  Parlia- 
ment was  so  little  aware  of  its  possible  powers  that  it  did 
not  conceive  clearly  the  dangers  besetting  it.  In  all  the 
thirty  or  so  charges  drawn  up  against  Richard  II.  by  a 
government  that  wished  to  find  as  many  as  possible,  a 
list  that  embodies  pretty  accurately  the  constitutional 
conceptions  of  the  time,  both  as  to  the  right  of  the  sub- 
ject and  of  Parliament,  there  is  no  statement  of  Richard's 
repeated  interferences  with  free  speech  in  Parliament, 
save  in  a  slight  allusion  to  the  "threats  and  terrors"  l 
used  to  overawe  the  Shrewsbury  Parliament  of  1397.* 
Not  a  word  is  said  or  implied  about  the  wrong  done  to 
Haxey.  With  all  the  seeming  progress  in  clarifying  the 
notion,  old  as  Parliament,  that  discussion  should  be  in- 
dependent of  the  King,  no  method  of  securing  members 
against  royal  imprisonment  for  what  they  said  had  been 
developed,  no  custom  of  asking  for  the  liberation  of  mem- 
bers so  imprisoned  had  been  established,  and  no  prob- 
ability that  such  wrongs  would  be  righted — unless  a  sud- 

1  This  was  mentioned  in  a  paragraph  chiefly  devoted  to  an  attack 
upon  Richard's  methods  of  controlling  elections  to  Parliament. 

1  That  the  King  had  forced  the  judges  to  give  opinions  contrary 
to  their  intentions  was,  however,  put  down  as  an  evidence  of 
his  unconstitutional  government.  Those  opinions,  of  course,  in- 
cluded two  items,  as  we  have  seen,  that  concerned  freedom  of 
speech. 

170 


Freedom  of  Speech 

den  shift  of  parties  or  kings  took  place — could  be  asserted. 
It  was  almost  as  likely  at  the  end  of  Henry  IV.'s  reign 
as  at  any  earlier  time  that  if  members  said  what  the 
King  did  not  like  they  would  have  reason  to  regret  it. 

How  little  conception  of  a  constitutional  principle  there 
was  is  best  shown  by  a  consideration  of  the  period  of 
nearly  a  century  and  a  half  that  follows.  Parliament  had 
resisted  the  royal  claim  that  it  should  stick  to  the  busi- 
ness set  before  it.  But  it  can  be  abundantly  proved  that 
in  the  fifteenth  and  early  sixteenth  centuries  Parliament 
continued  to  hold  fast  to  the  program  set  before  it.  And 
it  was  very  far  indeed  from  presuming  to  deal  with  matters 
that  concerned  the  King's  person.  The  notion  that  the 
King  should  get  all  his  knowledge  of  what  was  going  on 
through  official  channels  was  so  nearly  lost  in  the  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  centuries  that  its  violation  occasioned  little 
notice.1  As  for  the  Speaker's  request  at  the  beginning  of 
the  session,  it  ceased  to  carry  the  significant  words  of 
the  early  requests  and  became  almost  a  meaningless  for- 
mula in  behalf  of  the  Speaker's  safety.  The  raising  of 
objections  to  interference  with  speech  in  Parliament  was 
unnecessary  in  the  century  that  followed  Henry  IV. 
because  the  King  had  so  little  reason  to  complain. 

A  few  cases  in  the  long  period  from  Henry  IV.  to  the 
beginning  of  Elizabeth  must  nevertheless  be  touched 
upon.  That  of  Thomas  Yonge  is  classical.  Yonge  asked 
and  received  from  Parliament  restitution  because  he  had 
been  put  in  the  Tower  "for  matters  shown  by  him  in  the 
House."  He  stated  that  by  the  old  liberty  and  freedom 
of  the  Commons  of  this  land  all  members  "ought  to  have 
their  freedom  to  speak  and  say  in  the  House  of  their 
assembly  as  to  them  is  thought  convenient  and  reason- 

JFor  evidence  that  this  notion  was  existent  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  VIII.  see  Holinshed  (London,  1806),  III,  766. 

12  J7I 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

able  without  any  man's  challenge  or  punition  therefore." 
These  are  good  words,  yet  Yonge's  privilege  was  claimed 
only  because  he  happened  to  be  on  the  winning  side  in 
one  of  the  sudden  turns  of  the  Wars  of  the  Roses.  That 
his  right  was  thought  of  is  nevertheless  evidence  that 
earlier  precedents  had  not  been  quite  forgotten. 

The  case  of  Richard  Strode,  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII. 
(1512),  reveals  the  connection  between  the  notion  of  free 
speech  and  the  conception  of  Parliament  as  the  highest 
court  in  the  realm,  the  transactions  in  which  were  not  to 
be  disputed  in  any  other  court.  Strode  had  introduced 
a  bill  into  the  Commons  that  affected  Devonshire  tinners. 
For  that  he  was  imprisoned  by  the  Stannary  Court,  a 
court  that  had  to  do  with  the  affairs  of  tinners.  There- 
upon Parliament  declared  that  all  suits  against  the  said 
Richard  "for  any  bill,  speaking,  reasoning,  or  declaring  of 
any  matters  concerning  the  Parliament  to  be  communed 
or  treated  of,  to  be  utterly  void  and  of  none  effect."  » 
This  was,  of  course,  the  assertion  of  the  right  of  the  high 
court  of  Parliament  as  against  other  courts  to  have 
jurisdiction  over  its  own  members  for  their  dealings  in 
Parliament.2  Men  were  to  be  free  for  what  they  said 
in  Parliament — from  legal  action  in  other  courts. 
It  was  the  action  of  the  courts  and  not  of  the  King  that 
was  guarded  against.  The  King  might  imprison  members 
for  their  speeches  in  Parliament,  but  he  could  not  make 
use  of  the  courts  to  do  it. 

Of  Henry  VIII. 's  relation  to  Parliament  everybody 
knows.  That  great  bully  manifested  occasionally  some 

1  Unfortunately  the  statute  about  Strode  was  so  worded  that 
there  might  be  a  reasonable  doubt  as  to  its  general  interpretation. 
Of  this  doubt  judges  were  later  to  take  full  advantage. 

1  This  aspect  of  free  speech  deserves  a  much  fuller  treatment  than 
it  can  be  given  here. 

172 


Freedom  of  Speech 

inclination  to  give  Parliament  consideration.1  "The 
discussions  in  the  English  Parliament,"  he  wrote  the 
Pope,  ''are  free  and  unrestricted.  The  crown  has  no 
power  to  limit  their  debates .  .  .  they  determine  everything 
for  themselves."  Perhaps  Henry  believed  that,  but  he 
knew  very  well  that  Parliament  would  do  as  he  wished. 
The  Spanish  Ambassador  wrote  to  Charles  V.  that  for 
a  Parliament  member  to  have  resisted  the  proposed  legis- 
lation about  Queen  Katharine  would  have  been  worse 
than  heresy.2  Henry's  message  to  Gostwick  is  well 
known.  That  Kentish  knight  had  attacked  Cranmer 
"openly  in  Parliament"  for  his  preaching  and  reading 
in  Kent.  "Tell  that  varlet,"  the  King  sent  word,  "that 
if  he  do  not  acknowledge  his  fault  unto  my  lord  of  Canter- 
bury I  will  soon  make  him  a  poor  Gostwick  and  other- 
wise punish  him  to  the  example  of  others."  Gostwick 
acknowledged  it.3 

In  1542,  so  Elsynge  tells  us,  the  Speaker's  petition  for 
freedom  of  speech  was  first  recorded.  In  the  want  of 
evidence  at  hand  it  may  be  conjectured  that  this  was 
merely  a  slightly  more  definite  statement  of  the  custom- 
ary protestation.4  Prothero  says  that  the  first  occasion 

1  E.  g.,  Hen.  VIII.,  Letters  and  Papers,  X,  No.  462. 

J  Ibid.,  VII,  127.  The  Commons,  in  1523,  made  a  claim  to 
freedom  of  speech.  Cardinal  Wolsey  "came  again  into  the  Lower 
House  and  desired  that  he  might  reason  with  them  that  were  against 
the  demand  (for  a  large  grant),  but  he  was  answered  that  the  order 
of  that  House  was  to  hear  and  not  to  reason  except  among  them- 
selves."— Holinshed,  III,  685. 

1  It  must  not  be  overlooked,  of  course,  that  the  Tudor  practice 
of  appointing  ministers  from  the  Commons  was  likely  to  make  dis- 
cussion in  the  Lower  House  somewhat  less  frank  than  it  might 
otherwise  have  been. 

4  The  Speaker's  request  in  1523  was  pretty  definite.  He  asked 
pardon  for  any  member  who  "might  speak  more  largely  than  of 
duty  he  ought."— Holinshed,  III,  682-683. 

173 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

when  the  three  privileges — *.  e.,  access  to  the  sovereign, 
freedom  from  arrest,  and  freedom  of  speech — were  asked, 
was  in  1554  in  the  reign  of  Mary.  There  are  several  in- 
dications that  in  the  decade  or  so  just  before  Elizabeth 
the  notion  of  free  speech  was  becoming  clearer.  Certainly 
there  was  actual  discussion  and  difference  of  opinion  in 
the  Commons. 

What  was  the  importance  of  the  principle  of  free  speech 
when  Elizabeth  took  the  throne?  Had  freedom  of  speech 
been  once  secured  and  allowed  to  lapse,  had  it  made  great 
progress  in  an  early  and  Parliamentary  period  only  to  be 
arrested  by  civil  wars  and  Tudor  despotism  ?  Or  had  the 
principle  never  gained  much  headway,  and  the  early 
precedents  in  favor  of  it  been  much  less  important  than 
they  afterward  seemed?  The  whole  series  of  events  here 
sketched,  as  well  as  many  related  facts,  incline  one  to  the 
second  view.  The  more  one  reads  Tudor  Parliamentary 
history  the  less  reverence  he  has  for  the  familiar  dictum 
that  the  Constitution  had  been  made  by  148s,1  the  more 
he  comes  to  suspect  that  much  of  Parliamentary  liberty 
was  won  by  Elizabethan  and  seventeenth-century  orators 
who  had  a  knack  for  weaving  from  thin  Lancastrian 
threads  thick  cords  to  bind  their  kings.  To  one  who 
goes  over  early  Tudor  records  it  looks  very  much  as  if 
Parliament  were  as  yet  largely  a  ratifying  body.  Cer- 
tainly that  seems  to  be  the  main  function  of  the  Commons. 
It  is  hard  to  escape  the  impression  that  their  body,  in- 
stead of  having  through  new  circumstances  lost  its  pristine 
influence,  never  had  had  a  great  deal  of  influence.  No 
increasing  purpose  to  broaden  freedom  out  from  precedent 
to  precedent  runs  through  its  records.  What  the  mem- 
bers did  was  what  they  had  been  told  to  do,  and  they 

1  Of  course  on  the  side  of  the  common  law  the  Constitution  was 
pretty  well  made  by  1485. 

174 


Freedom  of  Speech 

did  it  as  if  they  had  afways  been  used  so  to  do.  They 
passed  measures  which  had  been  initiated  by  members 
of  the  Council,  examined  by  judges,  and  revised  by  "sage 
clerks."  Sometimes  the  bishops  had  a  finger,  often  a 
hand,  in  the  proposed  laws.  It  is  true,  of  course,  that  the 
Commons  had  a  right  of  initiation;  but  it  was  a  right  more 
honored  in  the  breach  than  in  the  observance.  The 
exercise  of  it  on  any  important  matter  would  have  been 
regarded  by  the  Tudor  sovereigns  as  an  encroachment 
upon  their  prerogatives.  The  actual  discussions  in  the 
Commons,  it  may  be  imagined  in  the  want  of  any  large 
body  of  evidence  on  this  point,  had  to  do  largely  with 
money  grants,  a  matter  in  which  the  Commons  played  a 
real  part.1  Upon  other  subjects  they  were  no  doubt 
encouraged  to  deliberate,  so  long  as  they  followed  the 
lead  of  the  Councilors.  They  might  sometimes  amend 
measures.  Indeed  we  find  them  in  the  reign  of  Edward 
VI.  occasionally  rejecting  measures  or  being  persuaded, 
not  without  difficulty,  to  pass  them.  But  such  cases  seem 
unusual. 

If  such  an  interpretation  should  prove  true  at  all,  it 
will  be  seen  that  there  would  be  little  occasion  to  sup- 
press free  speech  in  the  Commons  and  less  reason  for  them 
to  insist  upon  the  privilege.  And  such  an  interruption 
would  provoke  questions  about  the  course  of  free  speech 
under  Elizabeth  and  the  Stuarts.  When  Peter  Went- 
worth,  Coke,  and  Phelips  fought  for  the  privilege,  were 
they  regaining  old  trenches  or  thrusting  forward  into 
new  ones? 

Upon  freedom  of  speech  depended  the  whole  battle 
for  Parliamentary  liberty.  No  limitation  of  ordinance  or 
proclamation,  no  insistence  upon  exact  wording  in  the 

1 E.  g.,  see  Holinshed,  III,  685.  See  also  Hen.  VIII.,  Letters  and 
Papers,  III,  No.  83. 

175 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

drafting  of  laws,  none  of  the  various  forms  of  control 
by  which  Parliament  was  on  its  way  to  become  a  legis- 
lature, would -avail  if  the  King  could  curb  the  members' 
tongues.  All  that  had  been  won,  all  the  realization  of 
limited  monarchy  to  which  Elizabethan  political  thinkers 
awakened,  might  go  by  the  board  if  James  and  Charles 
could  silence  debate.  The  Kings  of  England  might  be- 
come what  they  sometimes  wished  to  be,  kings  like  those 
in  France.  Much  was  at  stake  in  those  debates  between 
sovereign  and  Parliament.  Wentworth  and  Strickland 
knew  it,  Coke  knew  it.  Most  of  all  perhaps  Eliot  knew 
it,  dying  in  the  Tower  by  slow  degrees,  unacclaimed,  that 
a  precedent  might  not  be  set  at  naught. 


II.   INTRODUCTIONS    TO    THE    SOURCES 

PART  A1 

Commons  Journals. 

These  need  little  discussion.  They  were  based  upon 
the  notes  taken  by  the  clerk  of  the  House,  and  upon 
copies  of  the  motions,  resolutions,  petitions,  etc.,  that 
were  left  with  the  clerk. 

Calendars  of  State  Papers,  Domestic. 

These  calendars  of  the  papers  in  the  Public  Record 
Office  in  London  are  arranged  in  chronological  order  and 
make  up  many  volumes  which  are  still  coming  out.  The 

1  This  discussion  of  the  sources,  the  questions,  and  the  sources 
themselves  have  been  divided  into  Parts  A  and  B,  A  covering  Eliza- 
beth, and  B  the  Stuarts.  This  has  been  done  to  make  possible  the 
study  of  the  problem  in  two  parts,  or  the  study  of  either  part  with- 
out the  other.  The  student  who  takes  up  the  second  part  without 
the  first,  however,  is  advised  to  read  the  Historical  Setting  at  the 
beginning. 

176 


Freedom  of  Speech 

earlier  volumes  were  little  more  than  lists,  but  the  later 
ones  have  included  very  complete  and  almost  satisfactory 
abstracts  of  the  contents  of  each  paper. 

Calendars  of  State  Papers,  Domestic,  1547-1580,  p.  283. 

Here  is  listed  a  minute  of  the  message  to  the  House  of 
Commons  from  the  Queen.  It  has  been  transcribed  in 
full  for  the  editors  from  the  Record  Office  in  London. 
In  that  office  it  is  listed  as  Eliz.  Vol.  XLI.  No.  30. 

Calendars  of  State  Papers,  Foreign. 

These  are  translations,  generally  in  full,  of  the  letters 
(written  in  most  cases  from  London)  by  the  representatives 
of  foreign  governments.  Their  emphasis  is  of  course  upon 
diplomacy,  and  their  accounts  and  comments  upon  Eng- 
lish politics  are  not  always  of  the  greatest  worth.  Some  of 
them,  however,  have  caught  the  trick  of  English  political 
ways  and  give  many  interesting  lights  upon  political 
events.  Those  quoted  in  this  problem  may  all  be  char- 
acterized as  in  the  main  trustworthy. 

Spanish  Papers,  1558-1567,  pp.  594-603. 

De  Silva's  narrative  of  Elizabeth's  dealings  with  Par- 
liament betrays  close  acquaintance  with  affairs  in  Eng- 
land. He  was  quite  as  much  a  political  agent  as  an  am- 
bassador. The  account  quoted  fits  in  well  with  what  we 
know  from  other  sources.  It  will  be  seen  that  De  Silva 
had  unusual  opportunity  to  know  the  royal  side  of  the 
story. 

D'Ewes,  Simonds,  Journal  of  all  the  Parliaments  during 
the  Reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  (London,  1682.) 

D'Ewes  was  a  seventeenth-century  antiquarian  who 
put  together  from  all  available  sources — little  has  ever 
been  added — a  compendious  history  of  Parliamentary 
debates  and  proceedings  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth.  He 
made  elaborate  and  intelligent  use  of  the  journals  of  the 
clerk,  a  good  part  of  which  have  since  been  lost  (putting 

177 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

in  corrections  where  necessary),  of  journals  kept  by  in- 
dividual members,  of  fragments  of  separate  speeches 
which  he  had  picked  up,  and  of  contemporary  annals. 
Out  of  all  these  and  in  particular  out  of  the  clerk's  jour- 
nals he  wove  a  combination  text.  In  that  text  he  was 
careful  to  show  from  what  kind  of  material  each  part  was 
drawn.  So  much  that  he  put  in  would  otherwise  be  lost 
that  the  obligation  of  historical  students  to  his  work  is 
great.  D'Ewes  was  a  careful  compiler  and  his  record  is 
as  good  as  its  originals,  all  of  which  were  without  doubt 
authentic  reports. 

Townshend,  Heyward,  Historical  Collections  of  the  Last 
Four  Parliaments  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  (London,  1680.) 

Townshend's  journal  up  to  1597  is  not  his  own,  but  is 
based  upon  a  private  journal  with  the  additions  of  ma- 
terials from  the  journals  of  the  two  Houses.  From  1597 
on  the  journal  for  the  Commons  is  evidently  a  personal 
diary  with  other  materials  inserted.  Its  exact  character, 
its  relation  to  D'Ewes,  and  to  the  lost  Commons  Journal 
needs  elucidation,  but  for  our  purpose  it  is  enough  to 
say  that  it  is  clearly  authentic. 


PART  B 

Commons  Journals. 
For  a  description  of  these  see  Part  A. 
Lords  Journals. 

These  journals,  like  those  of  the  Commons,  are  based 
upon  the  clerk's  notes  and  papers. 
Calendars  of  State  Papers,  Domestic. 
For  a  general  description  of  these  calendars  see  Part  A. 
Calendars  of  State  Papers,  Domestic,  1611-18,  pp.  236- 

237. 

178 


Freedom  of  Speech 

The  two  letters  briefed  here  record  facts  to  be  found 
in  many  places.  John  Chamberlain  was  not  connected 
with  the  government,  but  wrote  letters  to  his  friend 
Carleton,  who  was  English  ambassador  at  Venice.  Sir 
Ralph  Winwood  had  just  recently  been  made  secretary 
of  state. 

Calendars  of  State  Papers,  Domestic,  1619-23,    pp.  326- 

327- 

The  account  of  the  King's  coming  to  Council  here 
quoted  is  probably  a  narrative  prepared  for  publication 
by  one  of  the  secretaries.  (See  Parliamentary  History,  ed. 
17.51,  V,  513-514.) 

Calendars  of  State  Papers,  Foreign. 

For  general  description  of  these  calendars  see  Part  A. 

Venetian  Papers,  1621-1623,  pp.  183-184. 

Girolamo  Lando's  narrative  is  gossipy  but  interesting. 
What  he  tells  here  is  by  no  means  improbable. 

The  Parliamentary  History  (London,  1806),  is  an 
eighteenth-century  (first  edition  1751)  compendium  in 
many  volumes  of  the  debates  in  Parliament.  The 
speeches  and  papers  are  gathered  with  a  wide  net.  Where 
possible  the  material  quoted  should  be  reduced  to  its 
original  source.  The  Apology  of  the  Commons  here 
quoted  is  taken  by  the  editors  of  the  Parliamentary  His- 
tory from  William  Petyt's  Jus  Parliamentarium,  a  book 
about  Parliament  written  by  a  seventeenth-century 
manuscript  collector  and  antiquarian.  We  may  be  sure 
that  his  copy  of  the  Apology  was  transcribed  from  an 
authentic  copy  of  the  original.  If  we  were  not  sure,  the 
Apology  could  be  found  in  the  State  Papers,  Domestic, 
James  I.,  Vol.  VIII,  No.  70. 

Cobbett's  State  Trials  (London,  1809),  is  a  collection  of 
contemporary  accounts,  most  of  them  made  by  court 
reporters,  of  important  trials  in  English  history. 

179 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

Parliamentary  Debates  in  1610.  Edited  from  the  notes 
of  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons,  by  S.  R.  Gardi- 
ner (Camden  Soc.,  1862.)  The  original  of  this  account 
is  to  be  found  in  the  British  Museum,  Add.  MS.,  4210. 
It  is  much  the  fullest  report  of  what  happened  in  this 
session. 

Sir  Edward  Nicholas,  Proceedings  and  Debates  of  the 
House  of  Commons  in  1620  and  1621  (Oxford,  1766),  2 
Vols.  Nicholas,  who  was  destined  to  play  an  important 
r61e  in  later  reigns,  was  at  this  time  secretary  of  the 
Lord  Warden  of  the  Cinque  Ports  and  a  young  mem- 
ber of  Parliament.  He  kept  very  full  notes  of  what  hap- 
pened in  Parliament,  notes  upon  which  rests  most  of  our 
knowledge  of  the  events  in  this  session.  The  notes  were 
published  as  anonymous,  and  it  was  not  proved  until  the 
time  of  Gardiner  that  Nicholas  wrote  them. 

The  Notes  of  the  Parliament  of  1626  are  taken  from 
photographs  in  the  University  of  Minnesota  Library,  made 
from  a  diary  in  the  possession  of  the  Cambridge  Univer- 
sity Library.  The  diary,  which  is  exceedingly  detailed 
(270  closely  written  double  pages),  and  which  was  seem- 
ingly written  as  the  debates  were  in  progress,  was  prob- 
ably the  work  of  Bulstrode  Whitelocke.  (See  W.  A.  J. 
Archbold,  Eng.  Hist.  Rev.,  1902,  p.  703.)  It  is  much  the 
fullest  account  of  an  important  Parliament. 

a.  Sir  Richard  Grosvenor,  Notes  of  the  Parliament  of 

1628. 

b.  Borlase  Manuscript  of  the  Parliament  of  1628. 

c.  Rushworth  Historical  Collections.     (London,  1721.) 
The  editor  has  put  together  an  account  of  the  extraor- 
dinary debate  on  June  5,  1628,  from  three  sources,  using 
those  sources  in  turn.     Between  them  the  three  offer  a 
somewhat  better  account  than  can  be  found  in  any  one, 
although  all  have  many  points  in  common.     Grosvenor's 

180 


Freedom  of  Speech 

very  detailed  notes  are  taken  from  rotograph  copies  of 
the  original,  which  is  to  be  found  in  Trinity  College, 
Dublin  (E,  5.  33-36).  They  are  rather  disjointed  and 
were  evidently  made  during  the  progress  of  the  debates, 
but  they  are  obviously  much  more  nearly  verbatim  than 
any  of  the  other  accounts  and  include  many  speeches 
to  be  found  nowhere  else.  The  Borlase  Manuscript  be- 
longs to  the  British  Museum  (Stowe,  366),  and  is  a 
somewhat  formal  account  of  the  proceedings.  From  the 
folding  of  the  leaves  and  from  other  indications  it  may  be 
conjectured  that  it  was  a  sort  of  public  account  sold  by 
stationers  at  so  much  for  the  week's  proceedings.  Such 
manuscript  copies  of  Parliamentary  proceedings  were  in 
demand  and  could  be  sold  at  good  prices.  While  this 
account  of  the  Parliament  of  1628  is  less  exactly  verbatim 
and  more  formal,  it  is  quite  the  most  picturesque  narra- 
tive of  the  Parliament.  Rushworth's  account  of  the 
Parliament  of  1628  is  based  upon  another  manuscript 
account  of  the  proceedings,  an  account  which,  judging 
from  the  number  of  manuscripts  in  existence  to-day,  must 
have  had  very  general  circulation.  It  is  an  account  which 
was  evidently  "written  up"  afterward,  and  often  repre- 
sents probably  more  what  the  members  intended  to  say, 
or  thought  afterward  that  they  had  said,  than  what  they 
really  uttered. 


HI.    QUESTIONS   AND   SUGGESTIONS   FOR   STUDY 

Part  A.    Elizabeth » 

i.  Why  was  Elizabeth  unwilling  to  have  the  question  of  the 
succession  discussed?  Why  were  the  Commons  so 
anxious  to  discuss  it? 

1  See  note  on  p.  176  explaining  the  division  of  this  problem  into 
two  parts. 

181 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

2.  In  the  struggle  of  November,   1566,  what  was  the  com- 

promise arrived  at?  Which  got  the  best  of  it?  What 
led  Elizabeth  to  make  concession? 

3.  In  1571  why  was  Strickland  detained  from  the  Commons? 

Why  did  Carleton  wish  him  brought  before  the  bar  of 
the  House?  What  principle  did  he  have  in  mind  (see 
Strode  case  in  Historical  Setting)?  In  what  light  did 
Mr.  Treasurer  regard  the  introduction  of  Puritan 
legislation? 

4.  By  whom  was  Peter  Wentworth  sequestered  in  1576?     Was 

his  sequestration  a  violation  of  privilege? 

5.  What  abuses  of  free  speech  did  Wentworth  point  out? 

Was  he  the  first  to  point  out  the  fundamental  impor- 
tance of  free  speech  or  had  it  been  done  before? 

6.  When  he  says  that  the  sovereign  should  be  "under  the  law" 

what  does  he  mean  by  law? 

7.  What  was  Wentworth 's  attitude  toward  the  Queen?     Did 

Wentworth  stumble  into  trouble  or  seek  it?    Why? 

8.  When  the  Chancellor  in  1580  warned  the  Commons  off  cer- 

tain subjects  what  precedents  for  his  action  might  he 
have  cited? 

9.  In  Elizabeth's  speech  of  February  15,  1593,  is  she  pushing 

the  sovereign's  power  further  or  standing  by  a  former 
position?  What  threat  does  she  make?  Whom  does 
she  mean  as  "fitter  to  consider  of  such  things"? 

10.  Analyze  the  different  ways  in  which  Elizabeth  interfered 

with  free  speech  in  the  Commons.  In  what  way  did 
she  transgress  most  often?  In  what  way  least  often? 
Did  she  recognize  any  point  beyond  which  she  must 
not  go? 

11.  What  light  do  you  get  on  Elizabeth's  character? 

12.  What  evidences  do  you  find  of  her  intention  to  rule  con- 

stitutionally? 

13.  Do  you  find  any  evidence  that  Elizabeth's  councilors  were 

not  in  full  sympathy  with  her  policy  in  the  matter  of 
privilege?  Any  evidence  that  their  attitude  sometimes 
affected  her  policy? 

182 


Freedom  of  Speech 


14.  Do  you  find  any  reason  to  believe  that  the  Commons  tol- 

erated Elizabeth's  violations  of  privilege  because  she 
was  Elizabeth  and  a  woman? 

15.  Had  freedom  of  speech  been  gaining  or  losing  under  Eliza- 

beth?   

16.  What  was  Elizabeth's  notion  as  to  the  freedom  of  members 

to   introduce    measures?     Did   her   notion   have   any 
basis? 

17.  What  was  Elizabeth's  notion  as  to  the  rdle  of  the  Privy 

Council  in  legislation?    Any  evidence  that  the  Com- 
mons ever  accepted  that  notion? 

18.  What  seems  to  have  been  meant  by  the  "prince's  preroga- 

tive"?    How  far  had  any  notion  developed  that  there 
should  be  limits  to  the  prerogative? 


Part  B.     The  Stuarts 

1.  What  light  does  the  Apology  of  1604  throw  on  the  first  year 

of  James's  reign? 

2.  What  do  you  think  of  distinction  Bacon  makes  in  the  de- 

bates of  1610?  What  would  be  the  result  in  practice 
of  such  a  distinction? 

3.  What  different  arguments  are  presented  by  the  Commons 

in  the  Petition  of  1610?  Was  the  Petition  wholly 
true? 

4.  In  what  two  ways  did  James  infringe  upon  freedom  of 

speech  in  1614? 

5.  When  James  threatened  in  his  speech  of  December  4,  1621, 

to  "punish  any  man's  misdemeanors  in  parliament" 
was  he  keeping  his  promises?  How  would  he  probably 
have  answered  such  a  question? 

6.  In  the  controversy  between  King  and  Commons  as  far  as 

December   i4th,  what  arguments  of  the  King  seem 
strong?    What  is  the  argument  of  the  Commons?  What 
inconsistency  in  their  position?    Why  did  they  not 
make  a  more  direct  issue  with  the  King? 
183 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

7.  When  had  James  first  made  the  claim  that  privileges  are 

derived  from  grace?  What  was  the  implication  of  such 
a  claim  as  to  the  value  of  precedents?  What  would 
such  a  claim  mean  about  the  English  Constitution? 

8.  Why  were  the  Commons  not  satisfied  with  James's  letter 

of  December  17,  1621? 

9.  On  how  wide  a  range  of  subjects  did  the  Commons  in  the 

Protestation  of  December  i8th  claim  a  right  of  dis- 
cussion? 

jo.  What  was  intended  to  be  the  effect  of  tearing  the  Protesta- 
tion from  the  clerk's  book? 

11.  What  do  you  think  of  Lando's  prophecy  as  to  what  would 

happen  the  King  if  he  did  not  stand  upon  his  au- 
thority? 

12.  Do  you  find  any  likeness  between  James's  struggles  with  his 

Parliaments  and  Richard  II. 's  struggles? 

13.  What  indications  do  you  find  as  to  James's  character? 

14.  In  the  debate  of  May  12,  1626,  how  does  Carleton's  inter- 

pretation of  the  history  of  Parliaments  compare  with 
the  facts?  What  is  Carleton's  theory  of  the  best  form 
of  government?  Is  his  statement  on  May  iath  a 
threat  or  a  prophecy? 

15.  In  the  matter  of  Eliot  and  Digges,  had  Charles  real  occasion 

for  anger?  How  does  the  whole  incident  reveal  his 
weakness  of  character?  Indicate  two  policies  either 
of  which  would  have  been  better. 

16.  In  the  debates  of  June  5,  1628,  what  new  form  did  the  issue 

of  free  speech  take?  Was  the  sovereign  on  stronger  or 
weaker  ground  than  before?  Why  was  the  feeling  so 
intense? 

17.  In  the  trial  before  the  King's  Bench  in  1629  what  was  the 

crux  of  the  argument  in  the  decision  handed  down? 
What  was  the  significance  of  the  decision?  What  had 
the  King  gained  by  it?  What  happened  to  Eliot  (see 
any  English  history)? 

1 8.  Go  over  the  documents  of  James  I.  and  Charles  I.  and 

point  out  the  cases  where  the  Commons  had  been  urged 
184 


Freedom  of  Speech 

to  keep  off  certain  subjects;  where  members  had  been 
punished  for  speech  in  Parliament;  where  the  King 
had  received  unofficial  information  of  the  proceedings 
in  Parliament. 

19.  Do  you  detect  in  the  Parliaments  of  James's  and  Charles's 

reign  any  thought  or  concern  beyond  the  immediate 
practical  bearing  of  the  matter?  Do  you  detect  any 
such  concern  upon  the  part  of  the  crown? 

20.  When  the  Long  Parliament  reversed  the  decision  of  the 

judges  in  1630  what  had  it  accomplished? 

21.  What  necessity  for  the  action  of  Charles  II. 's  Parliament? 

22.  What  was  the  significance  of  the  article  about  free  speech 

in  the  Bill  of  Rights? 

23.  Why  was  freedom  of  speech  an  absolutely  vital  matter  in 

the  seventeenth  century?  What  fundamental  question 
did  it  involve  as  to  the  future  of  English  govern- 
ment? 

24.  Point  out  the  difference  in  attitude  toward  Parliament  of 

Elizabeth  and  of  the  first  Stuarts. 

25.  What  is  the  difference  in  the  tone  of  Parliament  toward 

the  sovereign  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  and  in  the  reigns 
of  the  first  Stuarts?  What  about  the  claims  of  Parlia- 
ment under  Elizabeth  and  under  the  first  Stuarts? 

26.  Go  over  the  reigns  of  James  I.  and  Charles  I.  and  point  out 

the  cases  where  precedents  and  ancestral  rights  are 
appealed  to  in  behalf  of  Parliament?  Did  the  sup- 
porters of  the  King  ever  deny  the  historical  founda- 
tion of  free  speech? 


IV.     The  Sources 
PART  A 

FREEDOM    OF    SPEECH   UNDER   ELIZABETH 

i.  Commons  Journals,  I.1 
Page  76. 

[Nov.  9,  1566.]  Mr.  Vice-Chamberlain  [Sir  Francis 
Knollys]   declared   the   Queen's   Majesty's   express 

s  commandment  to  this  House  that  they  should  no 
further  proceed  in  their  suit,  but  to  satisfy  them- 
selves with  her  Highness'  promise  of  marriage.  Mr. 
Secretary  [Cecil]  and  Mr.  Comptroller  [Croft]  sever- 
ally rehearsed  the  like  matter. 

10  [Nov.  nth.]  Paul  Wentworth,  one  of  the  bur- 
gesses, moved  whether  the  Queen's  commandment 
was  not  against  the  liberties;  whereupon  arose 
divers  arguments  continuing  from  nine  of  the  clock 
till  two  afternoon.  .  .  . 

15  1  It  will  be  observed  in  this  and  in  several  of  the  following  extracts 
that  some  of  the  same  selections  have  been  used  as  Prothero  avails 
himself  of  in  his  excellent  collection  of  documents.  It  was  quite 
impossible  to  go  over  Elizabethan  parliamentary  sources  and  not 
to  use  some  of  the  same  passages. 

1 86 


Freedom  of  Speech 

Pages  76-77. 

[Nov.  1 2th.]  Mr.  Speaker,  being  sent  for  to  at- 
tend upon  the  Queen's  Majesty  ...  at  his  coming 
[to  the  House]  .  .  .  began  to  shew  that  he  had  re- 
s  ceived  a  special  commandment  from  her  Highness 
to  this  House,  notwithstanding  her  first  command- 
ment, that  there  should  not  be  further  talk  of  that 
matter  [the  question  of  a  successor  in  case  the  Queen 
should  die  without  issue],  and  if  any  person  thought 
so  not  himself  satisfied,  but  had  further  reasons,  let  him 
come  before  the  Privy  Council,  there  to  shew  them. 
Page  78. 

[Nov.  25th.]  Mr.  Speaker,  coming  from  the  Queen's 
Majesty,  declared  her  Highness'  pleasure  to  be  that 
is  for  her  good  will  to  the  House,  she  did  revoke  her 
two  former   commandments,    requiring   the   House 
no  further  at  this  time  to  proceed  in  the  matter. 
Which  revocation  was  taken  of  all  the  House  most 
joyfully,  with  most  hearty  prayer  and  thanks  for 
20  the  same. 
Page  81. 

[Jan.  2,  1567.     Queen's  speech  in  closing  Parlia- 
ment.] ...  It  pleased  the  Queen's  Majesty  to  declare 
.  .  .  that  she  seemed  not  pleased  with  the  doings  of 
as  the  Commons  for  busying  themselves  in  this  session 
with  matters  which  did  not  appertain  at  this  time.  .  .  . 
2.  Calendar   of  State   Papers,    Spanish,    1558-1567. 
Guzman    de    Silva    (Spanish    Ambassador    to- 
England),  to  the  King. 
13  I87 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

Page  594. 

[Nov.  n,  1566.]  The  members  of  Parliament  who 
had  met,  as  I  wrote  your  Majesty  on  the  4th  inst., 
resolved  the  same  day  to  petition  the  Queen  by  com- 
s  mon  consent  to  deal  with  the  matter  of  the  succession. 
She  summoned  them  the  next  day  to  give  them  her 
reply,  and  made  them  a  long  speech,  pointing  out 
the  dangers  that  might  result  therefrom  to  the  peace 
and  order  of  the  country.  This  she  enforced  by 
10  examples,  and  said  she  was  not  surprised  at  the 
members  of  the  Lower  Chamber  treating  this  mat- 
ter like  inexperienced  school-boys  .  .  .  but  she  mar- 
velled greatly  that  the  Lords  had  concurred.  .  .  . 

She  told  me  that  many  of  them  [members  of 

is  Parliament]  had  asked  pardon,  saying  they  had  no 

intention  of  offending  her,  but  rather  of  serving  her, 

seeing  that  the  members  of  her  Council  who  had 

spoken  first,  had  requested  that  the  matter  of  the 

succession  should  be  taken  in  hand.  ...  I  told  her 

*>  I  understood  that  the  members  of  the  Lower  House, 

notwithstanding  the  answer  given  to  them,  again 

wanted  to  bring  up  the  matter,  and  I  was  surprised  at 

the  rashness  and  insolence  they  exhibited.  .  .  .  She 

said  that  I  was  right,  but  she  had  sent  them  an  order 

as  not  to  discuss  the  matter  under  pain  of  punishment 

for  disobedience,  and  that  all  had  now  obeyed.  .  .  . 

Page  596. 

[Nov.  i3th.  The  Same  to  the  Same.]  .  .  .  The 
Queen  seeing  that  they  were  determined  to  carry 

188 


Freedom  of  Speech 

on  the  discussion  about  the  succession,  sent  them 
an  order  not  to  do  so,  but  as  after  the  order  was 
written  it  was  understood  that  the  members  thought 
that  during  the  sittings  they  had  full  liberty  to  treat 

s  upon  matters  beneficial  to  the  country,  they  have 
greatly  resented  the  order,  and  I  am  told  that  the 
Council  have  used  their  efforts  with  the  Queen  to 
allow  Parliament  to  discuss  freely  this  and  other 
matters,  since  the  confirmation  of  their  acts  rests 

10  with  her.  .  .  . 
Page  598. 

[Nov.  25th.     The  Same  to  the  Same.] 
Notwithstanding  the   Queen's  orders   to   Parlia- 
ment, respecting  their  discussion  of  the  succession, 

is  and  a  more  recent  order  that  they  should  not  even 
discuss  her  prohibitions,  or  enquire  as  to  whether 
they  were  a  violation  of  the  privileges  of  Parliament, 
they  have  nevertheless  been  discussing  this  last  pro- 
hibition, although  it  was  thought  they  would  not 

ao  do  so.  I  am  told  that  the  insolence  of  these  heretics, 
and  their  hankering  after  liberty  in  everything,  is 
greatly  disgusting  the  Queen.  .  .  . 

Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  been  informed  that 
the  Queen  sent  to  Parliament  to-day,  saying,  that 

as  notwithstanding  the  orders  she  had  given  for  them 
not  to  discuss  the  succession,  it  was  not  her  inten- 
tion to  deprive  them  of  the  freedom  of  speech  con- 
ferred by  their  privileges.  It  is  believed  that  an 
arrangement  has  been  made  that  they  shall  refrain 

189 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

from  further  considering  the  succession,  and  will 
content  themselves  with  vindicating  the  freedom  of 
Parliamentary  discussion. 

Page  603. 
s      [Dec.   1 6th.     The  Same  to  the  Same.] 

I  was  with  the  Queen  yesterday,  and  to  draw  her 
out,  said  amongst  other  things,  that  now  that  sup- 
plies had  been  voted,  she  should  take  means  to  close 
Parliament.  .  .  .  She  said  .  .  .  she  would  try  to  have 
10  it  closed  before  Christmas,  although  the  members 
had  begun  to  deal  with  religious  affairs,  which  were 
quite  foreign  to  their  business. 
3.  State  Papers,  Domestic,  Elizabeth,  Vol.  XLI,  No.  30. 

[In  Burleigh's  hand.] 

is      To  be  declared  to  the  Commons  House  by  the 
Speaker. 

The  Queen's  Majesty  hath  commanded  me  to  let 
you  understand  that  whereas  shortly  after  she  had 
given  her  answer  to  certain  of  this  House,  in  the 
ao  matters  intended  to  have  been  required  of  her  Maj- 
esty as  the  necessity  of  the  time  and  other  weighty 
considerations  presently  moved  her,  upon  the  sight 
of  certain  matters  which  some  persons  intended 
under  pretence  of  dealing  in  the  former  suit,  to  pro- 
as pound  in  this  House  touching  the  crown  of  this 
realm,  very  unmeet  for  the  time  and  place,  and  cer- 
tainly dangerous  to  the  common  quietness  of  her 
subjects  now  assembled,  did  by  her  Majesty's  com- 
mandment will  you  all  to  stay  your  proceeding  any 

1 90 


Freedom  of  Speech 

further  in  the  said  matter  at  this  time,  and  now  being 
informed  by  such  of  this  House  as  she  hath  cause  to 
credit,  that  there  is  not  now  any  determination  of 
this  House  to  receive  or  allow  any  such  dangerous 

s  matter,  as  she  before  did  doubt,  is  therefore  pleased 
to  remove l  at  this  time  her  former  commandments, 
not  doubting  but  you  will  be  answerable  in  your 
whole  doings  .  .  .  and  thinketh  it  good  that  you  have 
regard  to  the  expedition  of  the  matters  of  most 

10  moment  remaining  amongst  you,  considering  the  ex- 
pense of  the  time  past  and  the  shortness  of  that 
which  is  now  to  come,  the  term  ending  also  so  short- 
ly as  it  shall. 
[An  addition.] 

is  If  any  person  after  this  message,  shall  either  pres- 
ently or  at  any  time  after  during  this  session,  in  the 
Commons  House  begin  any  speech,  tending  directly 
or  indirectly  to  make  any  declaration  of  any  partic- 
ular title  to  the  succession  of  the  crown  of  this  realm, 

30  the  Speaker  shall  forthwith  in  her  Majesty's  name 
command  the  party  to  cease  off  from  any  such 
further  speaking,  and  shall  declare  to  the  whole 
House  that  so  is  her  Majesty's  express  command- 
ment. 

35      This  manner  of  answer  her  Majesty  hath  thought 


1  In  the  MS.  the  word  remove  is  crossed  and  deliver  you  at  this  point 
inserted  in  the  Queen's  handwriting.  Evidently  Elizabeth  was  loath 
to  yield.  That  the  remove  was  put  back  in  is  clear  from  what  we 
are  told  in  the  Commons  Journals  for  November  25th. 

191 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

best  without  any  further  answer  to  the  request  that 
hath  been  made  to  have  leave  to  confer  upon  the 
liberties  of  the  House,  forasmuch  as  thereof  must 
needs  have  issued  more  inconvenience  than  were 
*  meet. 

[Nov.  24,  1566.     Signed  by  n  members  of  the 
Privy  Council.] 
4.  D'Ewes's  Journals,  p.  176. 

[April   21,    1571.]    For  the  said   Mr.    Strickland 

10  having  on  Saturday  the  i4th  day  of  this  instant 
April,  pressed  very  earnestly  the  reformation  of  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer,  and  some  ceremonies 
of  the  Church,  was,  after  the  adjournment  of  the 
House  of  Commons  on  that  day  .  .  .  called  be- 

is  fore  her  Majesty's  Council  .  .  .  and  was  commanded 
by   them   to  forbear   coming   to   the   said   House, 
in  the  mean  season,  and   to  attend  their  further 
pleasure.  .  .  . 
Pages  175-176. 

»o  [April  20,  1571.]  Mr.  Carleton  .  .  .  made  significa- 
tion how  that  a  member  of  the  House  was  detained 
from  them  (meaning  Mr.  Strickland)  by  whose  com- 
mandment or  for  what  cause  he  knew  not.  But  for 
as  much  as  he  was  not  now  a  private  man,  but  to 

as  supply  the  room,  person,  and  place  of  a  multitude 
specially  chosen  ...  he  thought  that  neither  in  re- 
gard of  the  country,  which  was  not  to  be  wronged, 
nor  for  the  liberty  of  the  House,  which  was  not  to 
be  infringed,  we  should  permit  him  to  be  detained 

192 


Freedom  of  Speech 

from  us.  But  whatsoever  the  intendment  of  this 
offence  might  be,  that  he  should  be  sent  for  to  the 
bar  of  that  House,  there  to  be  heard  and  there  to 
answer. 

s  Mr.  Treasurer  [Mildmay]  .  .  .  gave  advertisement 
to  be  wary  in  our  proceedings,  and  neither  to  venture 
further  than  our  assured  warrant  might  stretch  nor 
to  hazard  our  good  opinion  with  her  Majesty  on  any 
doubtful  cause.  .  .  .  He  further  said  that  he  [Mr. 

10  Strickland]  was  in  no  sort  stayed  for  any  word  or 
speech  by  him  in  that  place  offered;  but  for  the 
exhibiting  of  a  bill  into  the  House  against  the  pre- 
rogative of  the  Queen,  which  was  not  to  be  tolerated. 
.  .  .  And  lastly  he  concluded  that  oft  it  had  been  seen 

j$  that  speeches  have  been  examined  and  considered 

of 

Mr.  Yelverton  .  .  .  said  the  precedent  was  perilous, 
and  though  in  this  happy  time  of  lenity,  among  so 
good  and  honorable  personages,  under  so  gracious 

•o  a  prince,  nothing  of  extremity  or  injury  was  to  be 
feared;  yet  the  times  might  be  altered,  and  what 
now  is  permitted,  hereafter  might  be  construed  as 
of  duty,  and  enforced  even  on  this  ground  of  the 
present  permission.  .  .  .  He  shewed  it  was  fit  for 

•s  princes  to  have  their  prerogatives,  but  yet  the  same 
to  be  straitened  within  reasonable  limits.  .  .  .  He 
further  said  that  the  speech  uttered  in  that  place, 
and  the  offer  made  of  the  bill,  was  not  to  be  con- 
demned as  evil;  for  that  if  there  were  anything  in 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  either  Jewish,  Turk- 
ish, or  Popish,  the  same  was  to  be  reformed.  .  .  . 

Mr.  Fleetwood  1  .  .  .  said  then  that  of  experience 
he  could  report  of  a  man  that  was  called  to  account 

s  of  his  speech  in  the  5th  [year]  of  this  Queen2 .  .  .  what 
he  had  learned  in  the  Parliament  Rolls  he  thought 
convenient  should  be  known  and  considered  of.  In 
the  time  of  Henry  IV.  a  bishop  of  the  Parliament  was 
committed  to  prison  by  commandment  of  the  King; 

10  the  Parliament  resolved  to  be  suitors  for  him.3  And 
in  King  Henry  V.  the  Speaker  himself  was  com- 
mitted, and,  with  him  another  of  the  House;4  the 
House  thereupon  stayed,  but  remedy  they  had  none, 

1  Fleetwood  was  a  few  days  later  to  be  made  Recorder  of  London, 

is  through  Leicester's  influence,  and  no  doubt  in  this  speech  was  try- 
ing to  please  the  Court. 

1  This  may  refer  to  Paul  Wentworth,  who  had  been  one  of  those 
most  persistent  in  1566  in  discussing  the  question  of  succession,  or  it 
may  refer  to  the  very  interesting  case  of  James  Dalton,  whose 

ao  case  was  referred  to  the  Commons  by  Elizabeth  the  very  day  after 
her  message  of  Nov.  25,  1566.  Dalton  had  talked  about  the  Queen 
of  the  Scots  (see  Cal.  of  the  MSS.  of  the  Marquis  of  Salisbury,  I,  p. 
341,  and  Cal.  State  Papers,  Dom.,  1547-1580,  p.  283). 

*  This  is  an  allusion  to  the  case  of  Thomas  Merke,  Bishop  of 

as  Carlisle,  who  was  said  on  Henry  IV.'s  accession  to  have  made  a 
speech  in  the  Lords  in  favor  of  Richard  and  to  have  been  imprisoned 
for  it.  It  is  exceedingly  doubtful  if  the  bishop  was  imprisoned  for 
any  speech  in  Parliament;  indeed,  it  is  not  certain  that  he  made  a 
speech. 

30  *  This  is  undoubtedly  a  mistaken  allusion  to  the  imprisonment 
of  Speaker  Thorpe  and  William  Rail  in  1453  in  the  reign  of  Henry 
VI.  The  Commons  were  suitors  for  Thorpe's  release,  but  the 
privilege  involved  was  freedom  from  arrest  rather  than  freedom 
of  speech.  The  Lords  decided  that  Thorpe  should  remain  in  prison 

35  and  the  Commons  elected  a  new  Speaker. 

194 


Freedom  of  Speech 

other  than  to  be  suitors  to  the  King  for  them; 
whereupon  he  resolved,  that  the  only  and  whole 
help  of  the  House  for  ease  of  their  grief  in  this  case 
was  to  be  humble  suitors  to  his  Majesty,  and  neither 

s  send  for  him,  nor  demand  him  of  right. 

During  which  speech  the  Council  whispered  to- 
gether, and  thereupon  the  Speaker  moved  that  the 
House  should  make  stay  of  any  further  consulta- 
tion thereupon. 

10  [April  2 1  st.]  .  .  .  The  above  mentioned  Mr.  Strick- 
land did  this  Forenoon,  (upon  an  advertisement,  as 
it  should  seem,  from  her  Majesty's  Council)  repair 
again  to  the  said  House,  soon  after  it  was  set.  And 
coming  just  upon  the  time,  when  the  foregoing  Bill  for 

is  coming  to  Church  and  receiving  the  Communion,  was 
in  the  referring  to  Committees,  the  said  House  did 
in  witness  of  their  joy  for  the  restitution  of  one 
of  their  said  members  .  .  .  presently  nominate  him 
one  of  the  said  committees.  .  .  . 

20  5.  D'Ewes's  Journals,  p.  236. 
Pages  236-244. 

[Feb.  8,  1576.]  Peter  Wentworth  .  .  .  was  for  un- 
reverent  and  undutiful  words  uttered  by  him  in 
this  House  of  our  sovereign  lady  the  Queen's  Majesty 

as  sequestered,  that  the  House  might  proceed  to  con- 
ference and  consideration  of  his  said  speech. 
Peter  Wentworth's  Speech. 

[Feb.  8,  1576.]  I  find  written  in  a  little  volume 
these  words.  .  .  .  Sweet  is  the  name  of  liberty,  but 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

the  thing  itself  a  value  beyond  all  inestimable 
treasure.  So  much  the  more  it  behoveth  us  to  take 
care  lest  we  contenting  ourselves  with  the  sweet- 
ness of  the  name,  lose  and  forego  the  thing,  being 

i  of  the  greatest  value  that  can  come  unto  this  noble 
realm.  .  .  .  There  is  nothing  so  necessary  for  the 
preservation  of  the  prince  and  state  as  free  speech, 
and  without  it  [it]  is  a  scorn  and  mockery  to  call  it 
a  Parliament  House.  .  .  .  Two  things  do  great  hurt 

«o  in  this  place  .  .  .  the  one  is  a  rumour  which  runneth 
about  the  House  and  this  it  is,  take  heed  what  you 
do,  the  Queen's  Majesty  liketh  not  such  a  matter; 
whosoever  prefereth  it,  she  will  be  offended  with 
him.  .  .  .  The  other :  sometimes  a  message  is  brought 

«s  into  the  House  either  of  commanding  or  inhibiting, 
very  injurious  to  the  freedom  of  speech  and  con- 
sultation. I  would  to  God,  Mr.  Speaker,  that  these 
two  were  buried  in  hell.  .  .  . 

The  King  ought  not  to  be  under  man  but  under 

•o  God  and  under  the  law,  because  the  law  maketh  him 
a  King  l  .  .  .  and  thereunto  was  her  Majesty  sworn 
at  her  coronation,  as  I  have  heard  learned  men  in 
this  place  sundry  times  affirm;  unto  the  which  I 
doubt  not  but  her  Majesty  will  for  her  honour  and 

as  conscience  sake  have  special  regard;  for  free  speech 
and  conscience  in  this  place  are  granted  by  a  special 

1  Bracton,  Bk.  I,  ch.  VIII,  p.  5.  But  the  King  himself  ought  not 
to  be  subject  to  man,  but  subject  to  the  law,  for  the  law  makes  the 
King. 

196 


Freedom  of  Speech 

law,  as  that  without  the  which  the  prince  and  state 
cannot  be  preserved  or  maintained.  .  .  . 

A  message  Mr.  Speaker  brought  the  last  sessions 
into  the  House,  that  we  should  not  deal  in  any  mat- 
$  ters  of  religion,  but  first  to  receive  from  the  bishops. 
Surely  this  was  a  doleful  message.  .  .  . 

[Wentworth  said  many  other  things  in  criticism 
of  the  Queen  and  of  her  Councilors.] 

Extract  from  Wentworth's  Examination  before  a 

10  Committee  of  the  Commons,  on  the  8th  of  February 
for  the  speech  made  that  day. 

. .  .  And  yet  I  will  assure  your  Honours  that  twenty 
times  and  more,  when  I  walked  in  my  grounds  re- 
volving this  speech  to  prepare  against  this  day,  my 

is  own  fearful  conceit  did  say  unto  me,  that  this  speech 
would  carry  me  to  the  place  whither  I  shall  now  go, 
and  fear  would  have  moved  me  to  have  put  it  out; 
then  I  weighed  whether  in  good  conscience,  and  the 
duty  of  a  faithful  subject,  I  might  keep  myself  out 

»°  of  prison,  and  not  to  warn  my  prince  from  walking 
in  a  dangerous  course  .  .  .  herewith  all  I  was  made 
bold  and  went  forward  as  your  Honours  heard,  yet 
when  I  uttered  those  words  in  the  House,  that  there 
was  none  without  fault,  no,  not  our  noble  Queen, 

•s  I  paused  and  beheld  all  your  countenances  and  saw 
plainly  that  those  words  did  amaze  you  all  ...  and 
fear  bade  me  to  put  out  those  words  that  followed, 
for  your  countenances  did  assure  me  that  not  one 
of  you  would  stay  me  of  my  journey;  yet  the  con- 

197 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

sideration  of  a  good  conscience  and  of  a  faithful 
subject  did  make  me  bold  to  utter  it  ...  and  I  praise 
God  for  it,  and  if  it  were  to  do  again  I  would  with 
the  same  mind  speak  it  again. 

s  [The  Committee,  if  we  may  judge  from  its  chairman, 
showed  itself  inclined  to  criticize  Wentworth  for  his 
severe  forms  of  expression,  but  seemed  on  the  whole  very 
friendly  and  markedly  willing  to  admit  his  allegation  in 
a  general  way.  They  were  unable  to  secure  from  him 
10  any  admission  of  a  fault.  In  consequence  they  recom- 
mended that  he  be  committed  to  the  Tower  to  remain 
until  "this  House  should  have  further  consideration  of 
him." — C.  J.,  I,  p.  104.] 

Page  244. 

is  The  said  Mr.  Wentworth  was  by  the  Queen's  special 
favour  restored  again  to  his  liberty  and  place  in  the 
House  on  Monday  the  i2th  day  of  March  ensuing. 

6.  Commons  Journal,  I,  p.  118. 

[Jan.  20,  1580.]  This  day  the  House  being  assem- 

30  bled  .  .  .  and  attending  her  Majesty's  coming  to  the 

Higher  House,  went  then  up  with  Mr.  Speaker.  .  .  . 

And  my  Lord  Chancellor  in  his  oration  did  amongst 

other  things  give  a  special  admonition  unto  this 

House  [Commons]  not  to  deal  with  matters  touching 

as  her  Majesty's  person  or  estate  or  touching  religion. 

7.  D'Ewes's  Journals. 
Page  474. 

[Feb.    26,    1593.]  Mr.   Morrice,   Attorney  of  the 

Court  of  Wards,  moveth  the  House  touching  the 

30  hard   courses   of   the   bishops   and   ordinaries   and 

I98 


Freedom  of  Speech 

other  ecclesiastical  judges  in  their  courts,  used  tow- 
ards sundry  learned  and  godly  ministers  and  preach- 
ers of  this  realm  by  way  of  inquisition,  subscription 
and  binding  absolution. 

5       [Several  speeches  made  about  it.] 

Then  Sir  Robert  Cecil  [of  the  Privy  Council]  spake 
and  said.  .  .  .  What  the  bill  containeth  I  am  ignorant 
of;  and  whether  to  allow  of  it  or  not,  I  will  suspend 
my  opinion.  To  say  the  truth,  the  man  that  offered 

10  it  was  learned  and  wise,  and  one  whom  I  love;  yet 
a  bill  to  be  offered  and  enforced  in  this  sort  being  of 
such  effect,  I  know  not  how  to  allow  of  it.  For  her 
Majesty  had  straitly  forbidden  to  meddle  in  such 
cases.  .  .  .  For  the  bill  I  protest  I  know  it  not; 

is  but  it  seemed  to  contain  things  needful.  Wherefore 
it  were  fittest  it  should  be  commended  to  her  Maj- 
esty, and  so  recommended  unto  us. 

[The  Speaker  asks  that  it  be  committed  to  him 
to  consider  of  it,  and  promises  that  he  will  keep  it 

*»  with  all  secrecy.] 

Hereupon  the  House  was  in  question  whether  it 
should  be  committed  to  the  Speaker  only,  or  to  the 
Privy  Council  and  him.  .  .  .  Therefore  upon  a  motion 
made  by  Mr.  Wroth,  it  was  agreed  that  Mr.  Speaker 

as  should  have  it. 

[Feb.  28th.]  Mr.  Speaker  stood  up  and  said,  that 
he  had  a  message  to  deliver  from  her  Majesty. 
[Says  that  he  had  two  bills  delivered  to  him  yester- 
day to  consider  of.] 

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A  little  after  I  had  perused  the  bills,  I  was  sent  for 
by  a  special  messenger  from  her  Majesty.  Coming  in 
her  royal  presence  I  was  commanded  to  deliver  these 
words  from  her  most  excellent  Majesty  ^unto  the 

s  body  of  the  realm.  .  .  .  Her  Majesty's  pleasure  being 
then  [at  the  beginning  of  Parliament]  delivered  unto 
us  by  the  Lord  Keeper,  it  was  not  meant  we  should 
meddle  with  matters  of  state  or  causes  ecclesiastical 
.  .  .  she  wondered  that  any  could  be  of  so  high  com- 

10  mandment  to  attempt  (I  use  her  own  words)  a  thing 
so  expressly  contrary  to  that  which  she  had  for- 
bidden. Wherefore  with  this  she  was  highly  of- 
fended. .  .  .  Her  Majesty's  present  charge  and  ex- 
press commandment  is,  that  no  bill  touching  the 

is  said  matters  of  state  or  reformation  in  causes  ec- 
clesiastical be  exhibited.     And  upon  my  allegiance 
I  am  commanded,  if  any  such  bill  be  exhibited  not 
to  read  it. 
8.  Townshend,  Historical  Collections. 

30      Page  37. 

The  Queen's  Reply  through  the  Lord  Keeper  to 
the  Speaker's  demands  for  Privilege  at  the  Begin- 
ning of  Parliament,  Feb.  19,  1593. 

To   your   three   demands   the   Queen  answereth, 

35  liberty  of  speech  is  granted  you;  but  how  far  this 
is  to  be  thought  on.  There  be  two  things  of  most 
necessity,  and  those  two  do  most  harm;  which  are 
wit  and  speech;  the  one  exercised  in  invention,  the 
other  is  uttering  things  invented.  Privilege  of 

200 


Freedom  of  Speech 

speech  is  granted;  but  you  must  know  what  privi- 
lege you  have,  not  to  speak  everyone  what  he  listeth, 
or  what  cometh  in  his  brain  to  utter,  but  your  privi- 
lege is  to  say  yea  or  no.  Wherefore,  Mr.  Speaker, 

s  her  Majesty's  pleasure  is,  that  if  you  perceive  any 
idle  heads  which  will  not  stick  to  hazard  their  own 
estates,  which  will  meddle  with  reforming  of  the 
church  and  transforming  of  the  commonwealth,  and 
do  exhibit  any  bills  to  such  purpose ;  that  you  receive 

10  them  not  until  they  be  viewed  and  considered  of  by 
those  whom  it  is  fitter  should  consider  of  such  things 
and  can  better  judge  of  them. 
9.  Townshend. 
Page  54. 

is  [Feb.  24,  1593.]  This  day  Mr.  Peter  Wentworth 
and  Sir  Henry  Bromley  delivered  a  petition  unto 
the  Lord  Keeper,  therein  desiring  the  Lords  of  the 
Upper  House  to  be  suppliants  with  them  of  the 
Lower  House  unto  her  Majesty  for  entailing  the 

*>  succession  to  the  crown;  whereof  a  bill  was  ready 
drawn  by  them.  Her  Majesty  was  highly  displeased 
therewith,  after  she  knew  thereof,  as  a  matter  con- 
trary to  her  former  strait  commandment,  and 
charged  the  Council  to  call  the  parties  before  them. 

35  Sir  Thomas  Heneage  presently  sent  for  them;  and 
after  speech  with  them  commanded  them  to  for- 
bear coming  to  the  Parliament,  and  not  to  go  out 
from  their  several  lodgings. 

About  this  matter  in  the  beginning  of  the  Parlia- 
201 


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ment  was  a  committee  appointed  to  be  had  of  many 
wise,  grave,  and  ancient  Parliament  men  as  were  of 
the  House;  but  at  this  time  few  met  at  the  place 
appointed,  at  least  such  men  as  were  expected. 

5  ...  The  day  after  being  Sunday  and  Feb.  25th, 
and  the  House  sat  not;  yet  the  aforesaid  Mr.  Went- 
worth,  Sir  Henry  Bromley,  and  some  others,  were 
called  before  the  Lord  Burleigh.  .  .  .  Lord  Buckhurst, 
and  Sir  Thomas  Heneage,  who  entreated  them  very 

10  favorably,  and  with  good  speeches;  but  so  highly 
was  her  Majesty  offended  that  they  must  needs 
commit  them,  and  so  they  told  them.  Whereupon 
Mr.  Peter  Wentworth  was  sent  prisoner  to  the  Tower, 
Sir  Henry  Bromley  and  one  Mr.  Richard  Stevens  .  .  . 

is  were  sent  to  the  Fleet,  as  also  Mr.  Welch  the  other 
knight  for  Worcestershire. 


PART  B 

FREEDOM  OF  SPEECH  UNDER  THE  STUARTS 

It  can  readily  be  seen  that  freedom  of  speech  had  made 

»o  a  good  deal  of  progress  under  Elizabeth.     Not  because 

Elizabeth    made    concessions  —  for    she    made    few    of 

them — but  because,  thanks  to  the  persistence  of  Paul  and 

Peter  Wentworth  and  men  like  them,  the  question  had 

become  an  issue.     Peter  Wentworth  had  given  it  pub- 

»s  licity;   he  had  done  more,  by  spending  days  and  nights 

in  prison  he  had  made  it  a  good  cause.     Parliament  had 

been  aroused,  even   the  Privy  Councilors  had  scarcely 

202 


Freedom  of  Speech 

been  able  to  forbear  a  discreet  sympathy.  Not  only  was 
the  privilege  being  more  naturally  assumed  in  theory,  but 
it  was  being  more  frequently  adopted  in  practice.  Never 
had  the  Commons  talked  so  freely,  never  had  they  better 

s  reason.  They  feared  a  successor  to  Elizabeth  who  might 
carry  the  country  back  to  the  religious  polity  of  Mary. 
The  most  of  them  were  distressed  at  episcopal  innovation 
and  shocked  at  increasing  persecution  of  those  who  did 
not  conform.  They  could  not  remain  silent.  All  the 

10  active  pressure  of  Puritan  zeal  was  behind  the  demand 
for  liberty  of  discussion.  And  there  was  a  new  con- 
sciousness which  would  give  to  that  demand  a  general 
sanction,  a  sense  of  the  meaning  of  limited  government,, 
a  sense  that  "this  sceptred  isle  .  .  .  this  dear,  dear  land,. 

is  dear  for  her  reputation  throughout  the  world"  deserved 

the  "envy  of  less  happier  nations"  not  only  because  its. 

kings  were  renowned,  but  because  they  were  under  law. 

Into  such  a  land  came  a  Scottish  king,  full  of  bookish 

notions  about  the  divine  right  of  kings  whose  state  is. 

ao  the  "supremest  thing  on  earth,"  cocksure  in  his  opinions 
and  utterly  unaware  of  the  English  discovery  of  limited 
monarchy.  On  the  issue  of  free  speech,  if  on  no  other, 
there  was  sure  to  be  trouble. 

i.  Parliamentary  History,  I,  pp.  1033-34.     Apology 
35  of  the  Commons.     [June  20,  1604.] 

.  .  .  Now  concerning  the  ancient  rights  of  the  sub- 
jects of  this  realm,  chiefly  consisting  in  the  privileges 
of   this   House   of   Parliament,   the  misinformation 
openly  delivered  to  your  Majesty  hath  been  in  three 
30  things:    ist.  That  we  held  not  privileges  of  right, 
but  of  grace  only,  renewed  every  Parliament  by  way 
of  denature  upon  petition,  and  so  to  be  limited. 
14  2°3 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

[The  two  other  points  do  not  concern  this  subject.) 
.  .  .  We  most  truly  avouch,  ist.  That  our  privileges 
and  liberties  are  our  right  and  due  inheritance,  no 
less  than  our  very  lands  and  goods.  Secondly, 
s  That  they  cannot  be  withheld  from  us,  denied,  or 
impaired,  but  with  apparent  wrong  to  the  whole 
state  of  the  realm.  Thirdly,  and  that  our  making 
of  request,  in  the  entrance  of  Parliament  to  enjoy 
our  privilege  is  an  act  only  of  manners,  and  doth 

1°  weaken  our  right  no  more  than  our  suing  to  the 
King  for  our  lands  by  petition. 

In  the  first  Parliament  of  the  happy  reign  of  your 
Majesty  the  privileges  of  our  House  and  therein 
the  liberties  and  stability  of  the  whole  kingdom,  have 

is  been  more  universally  and  dangerously  impugned 
than  ever  (as  we  suppose),  since  the  beginnings  of 
parliaments. — Besides  that  in  regard  of  her  sex  and 
age  which  we  had  great  cause  to  tender,  and  much 
more  upon  care  to  avoid  all  trouble  .  .  .  these  actions 

3°  were  then  passed  over,  which  we  hoped  in  succeeding 
times  of  freer  access  to  your  Highness  of  renowned 
grace  and  justice,  to  redress,  restore  and  rectify. 
Whereas  contrary-wise  in  this  Parliament  .  .  .  not 
privileges,  but  the  whole  freedom  of  Parliament  .  .  . 

as  have  been  mainly  hewed  at  us.  ...  Secondly  the  free- 
dom of  our  speech  prejudiced  by  often  reproofs. 
Thirdly,  particular  persons  noted  with  taunt  and 
disgrace  who  have  spoken  their  consciences  in  mat- 
ters proposed  to  the  House.  .  .  . 

204 


Freedom  of  Speech 

What  cause  we  your  poor  Commons  have  to  watch 
over  our  privileges  is  manifest  in  itself  to  all  men. 
The  prerogatives  of  princes  may  easily  and  do  daily 
grow.  The  privileges  of  the  subject  are  for  the  most 
5  part  at  an  everlasting  stand.  They  may  be  by 
good  providence  and  care  preserved,  but  being  once 
lost,  are  not  recovered  but  with  much  disquiet. 

[In  the  Bate's  case  in  1606  the  Barons  of  the  Exchequer 
gave  a  decision  that  the  crown  could  levy  impositions — 

"  i.  e.,  certain  added  duties,  without  consent  of  Parliament. 
In  consequence  the  Lord  Treasurer  in  1608  issued  a  "book 
of  rates."  Parliament  found  its  control  over  the  purse- 
strings  seriously  lessened,  and  lessened  by  a  means  hard 
to  circumvent — a  court  decision.  When  it  set  about  in 

Js  1610  to  discuss  the  matter  the  King  sent  word  "not 
to  dispute  of  the  King's  prerogative  in  imposing  upon 
merchandise  exported  or  imported."  A  few  days  later 
he  received  the  Commons  and  repeated  his  injunction. 
This  proved  "distasteful"  to  the  Commons  and  "divers 

ao  speeches  were  made."] 

2.  Parliamentary  Debates  in  1610. 

Pages  37-39- 

Mr.  Fuller  repeated  part  of  a  speech  that  was 

formerly  spoken  by  Mr.  Whitelocke.1  .  .  .  That  the 

as  special  privilege  of  Parliament  is  to  debate  freely 

of  all  things  that  shall  concern  any  of  the  subjects  in 

1  Sir  James  Whitelocke  (father  of  the  more  famous  Bulstrode), 

who  was  one  of  the  most  vigorous  opponents  of  the  King  in  this  and 

the  next  Parliament  (sec  his  Liber  Famelicus,  Camden  Soc.,  1858, 

30  p.  24),  was  later  as  one  of  the  judges  of  the  King's  Bench  to  concur 

in  the  decision  against  freedom  of  speech. 

205 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

particular,  or  the  commonwealth  in  general  without 
any  restraint  or  inhibition.  Secondly  it  was  said  [by 
Sir  Thomas  Wentworth]  that  in  all  ages  the  King's 
prerogative  (which  was  the  matter  then  in  question) 
s  hath  been  examined  and  debated  in  Parliament.  .  .  . 
Also  it  was  said  that  in  all  courts  of  justice  at  West- 
minster the  King's  prerogative  is  there  ordinarily 
disputed,  and  therefore  may  much  more  be  debated 
in  Parliament,  being  the  highest  court  of  justice  in 

10  the  realm.  .  .  . 

But  Sir  Francis  Bacon  took  upon  him  to  answer 
these  reasons.  .  .  .  He  said  that  he  had  been  a  Par- 
liament man  ever  since  he  was  17  years  old,  within 
which  time  he  did  observe  that  the  Parliament  had 

is  received  divers  inhibitions  from  the  Queen  to  re- 
strain them  from  debating  the  matter  then  in  ques- 
tion; wherein  he  took  this  difference,  that  if  the 
matter  debated  concerned  the  right  or  interest  of 
any  subject  or  the  commonwealth,  if  in  that  case 

20  an  inhibition  came,  he,  for  his  part,  would  not 
advise  the  House  to  desist,  but  to  inform  the  King 
of  the  liberty  of  the  House,  and  so  to  proceed.  But 
if  the  matter  in  question  were  an  essential  thing 
which  concerned  the  prerogative  and  the  power  of 

35  the  crown,  then  the  House  did  always  desist  from 
proceeding  any  further  upon  such  inhibitions  re- 
ceived. He  gave  instances  of  divers  in  his  time.  .  .  . 
In  answer  to  this  speech  divers  stood  up.  .  .  .  But 
if  it  be  true,  as  Mr.  Solicitor  confessed,  that  the 

206 


Freedom  of  Speech 

Parliament  may  not  be  inhibited  to  debate  of  any- 
thing that  concerns  the  right  of  particular  subjects, 
much  less  can  they  be  inhibited  in  this  matter  of 
impositions,  which  concerns  the  rights  and  interests 

s  of  all  the  subjects  in  general.  .  .  . 

It  was  moved  therefore  that,  as  the  King  had 
granted  us  freedom  of  speech  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Parliament  concerning  all  matters  of  the  com- 
monwealth ...  so  we  should  by  a  Petition  of  Right 

10  make  known  our  liberties  to  his  Majesty,  and  desire 
him  to  remove  the  impediment. 
3.  Commons  Journals,  I,  p.  431.      (Petition  to  the 

Sovereign,  May  23,   1610.) 
Most  gracious  sovereign:    .   .  .  First  we  hold  it 

is  an  ancient,  general,  and  undoubted  right  of  Par- 
liament to  debate  freely  all  matters  which  do 
properly  concern  the  subject  and  his  right  or  state; 
which  freedom  of  debate  being  once  foreclosed, 
the  essence  of  the  liberty  of  Parliament  is  withal 

20  dissolved. 

And  whereas  in  this  case  the  subject's  right  on 
the  one  side  and  your  Majesty's  prerogative  on  the 
other  cannot  possibly  be  severed  in  debate  of  either; 
we  allege  that  your  Majesty's  prerogatives  of  that 

as  kind,  concerning  directly  the  subject's  right  and  in- 
terest are  daily  handled  and  discussed  in  all  courts 
at  Westminster,  and  have  been  ever  freely  debated 
upon  all  fit  occasions  both  in  this  and  all  former 
Parliaments  without  restraint.  .  .  . 

207 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

We  therefore  your  Highness's  loyal  and  dutiful 
Commons,  not  swerving  from  the  approved  steps  of 
our  ancestors,  most  humbly  and  instantly  beseech 
your  gracious  Majesty  that  ...  we  may,  according 
s  to  the  undoubted  right  and  liberty  of  Parliament, 
proceed  in  our  intended  course  of  a  full  examination 
of  these  new  impositions.  .  .  . 
4  (cont.).  Parliamentary  Debates,  1610,  pp.  41-42. 

[May  24th.     The  King's  Answer.]  .  .  .  He  said  his 
*»  message  was  not  absolutely  to  forbid  us  from  treat- 
ing of  the  impositions,  but  only  until  we  heard  his 
further  pleasure;    not  with  any  intent  for  ever  to 
restrain  us.  ... 

For  our  Petition  he  granted  it  as  we  had  set  it 
•«s  down  ourselves. 

[The  Commons  in  1614  ("Addled  Parliament")  were 
more  unfavorable  to  James  than  in  any  preceding  Parlia- 
ment. It  soon  became  evident  they  intended  to  vote  no 
grant  until  the  grievance  of  impositions  was  remedied. 

">  When  Neile,  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  attacked  them  in  the 
Lords  for  meddling  with  matters  that  did  not  belong  to 
them  and  talked  about  seditious  speeches  they  might 
utter  if  they  should  confer  with  the  Lords,  the  Commons 
took  umbrage.  The  Lords,  after  they  had  been  given 

as  clear  proofs  of  the  Bishop's  speech,  called  upon  him  to 
explain.  He  declared  that  his  meaning  had  been  mis- 
understood. But  the  Commons,  not  fully  satisfied  with 
him,  or  with  the  Lords'  attitude  in  the  affair,  pressed  the 
attack.] 

30  5.  Calendar  of  the  State  Papers,  Domestic,  1611-18, 

208 


Freedom  of  Speech 

Page  236. 

[London,  June  9,  1614.     Chamberlain  to  Carleton.] 

The  Commons  refusing  satisfaction  from  the 
Bishop  of  Lincoln  and  growing  insolent,  the  King 
s  sent  them  word  he  would  dissolve  them  unless 
they  attended  at  once  to  his  wants.  Bold  speeches 
of  several  members  on  which  a  commission  was  issued 
to  dissolve  the  Parliament.  The  time  was  short, 
and  discontents  so  great  that  they  took  no  steps 
10  to  mend  matters,  the  House  being  more  like  a  cock- 
pit than  a  council,  and  on  the  ist  the  House  was 
dissolved,  and  some  members  summoned  to  the 
Council,  and  sent  thence  to  the  Tower. 

Page  237. 

is      [St.  Bartholomewes  (London),  June  16,  1614.     Sir 
Ralph  Win  wood  to  Carleton.] 

Never  saw  so  much  faction  and  passion  as  in  the 
late  unhappy  Parliament,  nor  so  little  reverence 
of  a  King.  .  ,  .  The  impositions  were  the  great  griev- 
»o  ance,  also  a  speech  of  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln  taxing 
the  Commons  with  sedition,  and  the  King's  messages 
were  thought  to  abridge  the  liberty  of  the  House. 
The  breakneck  was  some  seditious  speeches  which 
made  the  King  impatient,  and  it  was  whispered  to 
»s  him  that  they  would  have  his  life  and  that  of  his 
favorites  before  they  had  done,  on  which  he  dis- 
solved them.  Four  of  their  tribunes,  Sir  Walter 
Chute,  Chris.  Neville.  Hoskins,  and  Wentworth,  are 
sent  to  prison.  .  .  . 

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Source  Problems  in  English  History 

[James's  son-in-law,  Frederick,  head  of  the  south  Ger- 
man electorate  known  as  the  Palatinate,  had  in  1619  ac- 
cepted the  crown  of  Bohemia  from  the  estates  of  that 
country  who  had  deposed  the  Archduke  Ferdinand.  Fred- 

s  erick  was  defeated  and  driven  out  of  Bohemia  by  the 
imperial  forces,  Ferdinand  had  now  become  emperor. 
Not  only  was  Bohemia  lost,  but  the  Palatinate  was 
invaded  from  the  west  by  Spanish  troops.  These  rapid 
moves  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War  alarmed  James,  who 

10  called  Parliament  together  to  get  money  for  a  war  against 
Spain  and  then  concluded  with  surprising  fatuity  that 
he  could  gain  what  he  wished,  the  security  of  the  Palati- 
nate, by  negotiation,  perhaps  by  the  marriage  of  his  son 
Charles  to  the  infanta  of  Spain.  Parliament,  Puritan  and 

is  anti-Spanish,  had  no  will  for  such  a  policy  and  was  dis- 
inclined toward  watchful  waiting.  In  any  case  they 
wished  to  discuss  the  policy.  James  wished  money.] 

6.  Sir  Edward  Nicholas,  Proceedings  and  Debates  of 
the  House  of  Commons.  1620-21,  II. 

ao      Pages  185-199. 

[Nov.  21,  1621.]  The  Lord  Keeper.  .  .  .  For  the 
form  of  imitation  for  this  assembly,  he  saith  that 
we  should  imitate  the  ancient  times  and  form  of 
Parliament,  and  avoid  all  long  harangues,  all  ma- 

23  licious  or  cunning  diversions,  that  we  should  not 
attend  our  domestic  business,  till  we  had  furnished 
and  finished  the  business  of  the  Palatinate,  and  pro- 
vided first  to  send  speedily  thither  some  aid  or 
supply. 

30  [Nov.  23d.]  Mr.  Alford  saith  that  the  King  hath 
commanded  by  two  proclamations  that  none  should 

210 


Freedom  of  Speech 

meddle  or  talk  of  state  business;  and  yet  hath  again 
commanded  by  the  three  lords  that  we  should  not 
meddle  but  with  the  business  of  the  Palatinate. 
That  this  is  a  precedent  wherein  we  are  warily  to 

s  proceed;  for  hereafter  the  King  may  else  say  we 
shall  meddle  only  with  this  or  that  business,  and  not 
with  other  things,  and  so  we  lose  the  privilege  of  a 
free  Parliament.  He  would  that  we  should  hasten 
to  dispatch  the  business  of  the  House;  for  hereafter 

10  if  we  shall  touch  on  anything  for  the  good  of  the 
commonwealth  his  Majesty  may  be  incensed  and 
so  dissolve  the  Parliament.  .  .  . 

[The  House  took  up  the  question  of  the  privilege  of  one 

of  its  members,  Sir  Edwin  Sandys,  who  had  been  im- 

is  prisoned  for  his  efforts  to  defeat  intrigues  against  the 

Virginia  Company.     The  Commons  suspected  that  he 

was  suffering  for  what  he  had  said  in  Parliament.] 

Sir  Thomas  Wentworth  saith  that  he  hath  observed 

that  this  House  hath  ever  used  to  debate  with  jeal- 

ao  ousy  the  privileges  of  this  House,   but  we  have 

ever  done  it  with  loss  of  our  privileges  rather  than 

gain. 

[On  the  zgth  of  November  the  Commons  resolved  to 
prepare  a  petition  to  be  sent  to  the  King.  On  December 

*s  ist  the  form  of  the  petition  was  brought  in  by  the  sub- 
committee. That  petition  emphasized  the  danger  from 
Spain,  from  the  Pope,  and  especially  from  Catholic  de- 
signs in  England,  and  urged  that  the  King  should  join 
with  other  Protestant  states  in  supporting  the  Elector 

30  Palatine  against  Spain,  and  that  Prince  Charles  should 

211 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

be  married  to  one  of  his  own  religion.  It  was  pointed  out 
by  the  court  party  that  such  a  petition  dealing  with  war, 
marriage,  and  religion  would  incur  the  King's  displeasure, 
and  the  answer  from  the  supporters  of  the  petition  was 

s  that  there  were  abundant  precedents,  even  in  the  time  of 
Elizabeth,  for  dealing  with  such  matters,  and  that  the 
King  by  asking  Parliament  to  speak  freely  of  the  griev- 
ances of  the  kingdom  and  by  saying  in  his  speech  that 
there  was  no  hope  for  peace,  had  invited  such  a  discussion. 

»o  After  the  petition  had  been  adopted  and  a  committee 
named  to  take  it  to  the  King,  the  Commons  received  a 
letter  from  the  King  as  follows] : 

Page  277. 

[Dec.  4,  1621.     The  King  to  the  Speaker  of  the 
is  House  of  Commons.] 

We  have  heard  by  divers  reports  .  .  .  that  the  far 
distance  of  our  person  at  this  time  .  .  .  hath  embold- 
ened some  fiery  and  popular  spirits  in  our  House  of 
Commons  to  debate  and  argue  publicly  in  matters 
ao  far  beyond  their  reach  or  capacity;  and  so  tending 
to  our  high  dishonor  and  to  the  trenching  upon 
our  prerogative  royal. 

You  shall  therefore  acquaint  that  House  with  our 
pleasure  that  none  therein  shall  presume  to  meddle 
as  with  anything  concerning  our  government  or  mys- 
teries of  state,  namely  not  to  speak  of  our  dearest 
son's  match  with  the  daughter  of  Spain,   nor  to 
touch   the  honor  of  that  King,  or  any  other  our 
friends  or  confederates:    and  also  not  to  meddle 
30  with  any  men's  particulars  which  have  their  due 

212 


Freedom  of  Speech 

motion  in  any  of  our  ordinary  courts  of  justice. 
And  whereas  we  hear  that  they  have  sent  a  message 
to  Sir  Edwin  Sandys  i  to  know  the  reason  of  his  late 
restraint,  you  shall  in  our  name  resolve  them  that 

s  it  was  not  for  any  misdemeanor  of  his  in  Parliament. 
But  to  put  them  out  of  doubt  of  any  question  of 
that  nature  that  may  arise  among  them  hereafter, 
you  shall  resolve  them  in  our  name  that  we  think 
ourself  very  free  and  able  to  punish  any  man's  mis- 

10  demeanors  in  Parliament,  as  well  during  their  sitting 
as  after;  which  we  mean  not  to  spare  hereafter 
upon  any  occasion  of  any  man's  insolent  behavior 
there,  that  shall  be  ministered  unto  us.  And  if 
they  have  already  touched  any  of  these  points,  which 

is  we  have  forbidden,  in  any  petition  of  theirs,  which 
is  to  be  sent  unto  us,  it  is  our  pleasure  that  you  shall 
tell  them,  that,  except  they  reform  it  before  it  comes 
to  our  hands,  we  will  not  deign  the  hearing  or  an- 
swering of  it.  ... 

»<>      Pages  279-283. 

[Dec.  4,  1621.]  Sir  William  Strode  saith,  he 
thinketh  that  our  thoughts  being  now  disturbed  by 
this  message  from  his  Majesty,  we  are  not  fit  or  able 
to  debate  of  anything,  till  we  have  considered  of  it 

as  and  digested  it;  and  therefore  would  have  us  now 
rise  and  not  so  suddenly  debate  of  this  business,  it 
being  of  the  greatest  consequence  for  our  privileges 
that  ever  came  hither. 

1  The  debates  on  the  Sandys  case  have  been  omitted. 
213 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

[Dec.  5th.]  Mr.  Delbridge  (after  a  long  silence  in 
the  House)  rose  up  and  said.  ...  As  for  the  privileges 
of  this  House,  touching  the  Petition  we  prepared  for 
the  King,  he  had  as  willingly  hang  under  the  gallows 

5  as  fry  over  a  faggot.     And  therefore,  the  state  of 

our  religion  standing  as  it  doth,  he  would  have  us 

go  to  the  King  again  and  again  with  our  petition.  .  .  . 

Sir  Robert  Phelips  saith  that  now  is  the  time  to 

justify  the  affection  of  the  people  to  the  King  and 

«>  to  defend  the  privileges  of  this  House,  which  our 
ancestors  have  delivered  us,  and  which  we  ought  to 
preserve  for  our  posterity: — That  his  ground  and 
anchor-hold  is  the  King's  word  for  our  liberty  of 
speech,  delivered  here  in  writing  by  Mr.  Secretary 

is  ...  he  saith  he  knoweth  not  what  hath  caused  this 
soul-killing  letter  from  the  King.  .  .  .  And  he  desireth 
that  there  may  be  a  committee  appointed  to  consider 
what,  on  the  like  message  from  former  Kings,  the 
House  hath  done,  and  to  consider  what  we  may 

20  do  to  set  us  right  in  the  King's  favor  and  to  proceed 
without  breach  of  our  privileges  and  liberties,  with- 
out which  defence  we  are  unworthy  of  our  lives,  and 
to  look  those  in  the  face  who  sent  us  hither. 

Mr.  Hakewill.   .   .   .  He  hath  known  three  the 

«s  like  storms  in  this  House:  the  first  in  5  Eliz.  when 
this  House  did  press  her  to  know  her  successor, 
which  she  would  by  no  means  declare  or  have 
spoken  of;  yet  on  a  petition  from  this  House,  her 
Majesty  did  give  us  leave  to  treat  of  it.  2.  That  in 

214 


Freedom  of  Speech 

the  same  Parliament  there  was  a  petition  prepared 
as  now,  to  beseech  her  to  marry;  and  though  she 
was  much  offended  at  it,  yet  by  our  temperance  in 
that  petition  and  on  a  second  petition  she  did  give 

s  us  leave  to  treat  and  debate  of  her  marriage  here. 
3.  That  the  King  heretofore,  though  at  first  he  sent 
a  sharp  message  to  this  House  when  it  did  begin 
to  debate  of  impositions,  yet  on  better  information 
he  did  give  us  leave  to  debate  thereof.  .  .  . 

i«  [The  House  goes  into  committee.  A  long  debate 
ensues.] 

Pages  289-294. 

[Dec.  6th.     The  Commons  to  the  King.] 

We  .  .  .  beseech  your  most  excellent  Majesty  that 

is  the  loyalty  and  dutifulness  of  as  faithful  and  loving 
subjects  as  ever  .  .  .  lived  .  .  .  may  not  undeservedly 
suffer  by  the  misinformation  of  uncertain  reports.  .  . 
but  that  your  Majesty  would  .  .  .  first  vouchsafe  to 
understand  from  ourselves,  and  not  from  the  partial 

20  informations  of  any  others,  what  our  humble  dec- 
laration and  petition,  resolved  on  by  the  universal 
voice  of  the  whole  House,  and  proposed,  with  your 
gracious  favor  .  .  .  doth  contain.  .  .  .  And  we  humbly 
beseech  your  Majesty  that  you  will  not  hereafter 

as  give  credit  to  private  reports  against  all  or  any  of 
the  members  of  our  House,  whom  the  whole  have 
not  censured,  until  your  Majesty  hath  been  truly 
informed  thereof  from  ourselves.  .  .  .  When  your 
Majesty  had  reassembled  us  in  Parliament  .  .  .  and 

215 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

did  vouchsafe  by  the  mouths  of  three  honorable 
lords  to  impart  to  us  the  weighty  occasions  moving 
your  Majesty  thereto,  from  them  we  did  under- 
stand these  particulars.  .  .  .  That  your  Majesty  must 
s  either  abandon  your  own  children  or  engage  your- 
self in  a  war.  .  .  .  And  that  out  of  these  considerations 
we  were  called  to  a  war,  and  forthwith  to  advise  of 
a  supply  for  keeping  the  forces  in  the  Palatinate 
from  disbanding.  .  .  .  We  thereupon  .  .  .  did  address 

10  ourselves  to  the  service  commended  to  us.  And 
although  we  cannot  conceive  that  the  honor  and 
safety  of  your  Majesty  .  .  .  the  patrimony  of  your 
children,  invaded  and  possessed  by  their  enemy,  the 
welfare  of  religion  and  state  of  your  kingdom,  are 

15  matters  at  any  time  unfit  for  our  deepest  considera- 
tion in  time  of  Parliament  ...  we  thought  it  our 
duty  to  provide  for  the  present  supply  thereof  and 
not  only  to  turn  our  eyes  on  a  war  abroad,  but 
to  take  care  for  the  securing  of  our  peace  at  home. 

ao  ...  In  the  discourse  whereof  we  did  not  assume  to 
ourselves  any  power  to  determine  of  any  part 
thereof,  nor  intended  to  encroach  or  intrude  on  the 
sacred  bounds  of  your  prerogative  or  regal  authority 
to  whom,  and  to  whom  only  we  humbly  acknowledge 

as  that  it  doth  belong  to  resolve  of  peace  and  war, 
and  of  the  marriage  of  the  noble  prince  your  son. 
.  .  .  Our  humble  suit  to  your  Majesty  ...  is  that 
your  Majesty  will  be  graciously  pleased  to  receive  at 
the  hands  of  these  messengers  our  former  humble 

216 


Freedom  of  Speech 

declaration  and  petition.  .  .  .  And  whereas  your 
Majesty  by  the  general  words  of  your  letter  seemeth 
to  restrain  us  from  intermeddling  with  matters  of 
government  or  particulars  which  have  their  motion 

s  in  courts  of  justice  .  .  .  and  whereas  your  Majesty's 
letter  doth  seem  to  abridge  us  of  the  ancient  liberty 
of  Parliament  for  freedom  of  speech,  jurisdiction,  and 
just  censure  of  the  House  ...  a  liberty  which  we  as- 
sure ourselves  so  wise  and  so  just  a  King  will  not 

10  infringe  (the  same  being  our  undoubted  right  and 
inheritance,  received  from  our  ancestors)  ...  we 
are  therefore  now  again  enforced  humbly  to  be- 
seech your  Majesty  to  renew  and  allow  the  same 
and  thereby  take  away  the  doubts  and  scruples  your 

15  Majesty's  late  letter  to  our  Speaker  hath  brought 
upon  us.  ... 
Page  303. 

[Dec.  ioth.]  Sir  Edward  CoRe  saith  that  it  is  on 
this  point  with  us  now  as  it  was  in  the  time  of  some 

ao  of  the  former  kings  of  this  realm.  In  the  Parlia- 
ment roll  at  Westminster  in  Sancti  Hilarii,  Anno 
secundo  H.  4,  No.  II.  25  Jan.,  the  House  did  petition 
the  King  that,  because  it  might  happen  that  some 
of  the  Commons,  to  please  the  King  and  advance 

•s  themselves,  might  relate  some  things  here  debated 
of,  before  it  was  determined,  discussed,  or  accorded 
of  by  the  Commons,  (that)  it  would  please  his  Maj- 
esty to  give  no  credit  to  such  reports.1  .  .  . 

1  See  The  Historical  Setting,  p.  165. 
217 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

This  record  [with  the  King's  answer  agreeing  to 

the  request]  is  delivered  into  the  House,  and  it  is 

ordered  that  it  shall  be  entered  here  in  the  House  in 

French  and  English,  and  that  every  one  that  will 

s  shall  have  copies  of  it. 

Pages  317-327. 

[Dec.  14,  1621.  His  Majesty's  Answer  to  the 
Apologetic  Petition  of  the  House  of  Commons.] 

.  .  .  Now  whereas  .  .  .  you  tax  us  in  fair  terms  of 
10  trusting  uncertain  reports  and  partial  information 
concerning  your  proceedings,  we  wish  you  to  re- 
member that  we  are  an  old  and  experienced  King, 
needing  no  such  lessons,  being  in  our  conscience 
freest  of  any  King  alive  from  hearing  or  trusting 
15  idle  reports.  .  .  . 

In  the  body  of  your  petition  you  usurp  upon  our 
prerogative  royal  and  meddle  with  things  far  above 
your  reach,  and  then  in  conclusion,  you  protest  the 
contrary.  .  .  .  And  whereas  ye  pretend,  that  you  were 
»o  invited  to  this  course  by  the  speeches  of  three  hon- 
orable lords,  yet  by  so  much  as  yourselves  repeat  of 
their  speeches,  nothing  can  be  concluded  but  that 
we  were  resolved  by  war  to  regain  the  Palatinate, 
if  otherwise  we  could  not  attain  unto  it;  and  you 
as  were  invited  to  advise  forthwith  upon  a  supply  for 
keeping  the  forces  in  the  Palatinate  from  disband- 
ing, and  to  foresee  the  means  for  the  raising  and 
maintaining  of  the  body  of  an  army  for  that  war. 
...  Ye  come  after  to  a  direct  contradiction  to  the 

218 


Freedom  of  Speech 

conclusion  of  your  former  petition,  saying,  "that 
the  honor  and  safety  of  us  and  our  posterity,  and 
the  patrimony  of  our  children  .  .  .  the  welfare  of 
religion  and  state  of  our  kingdom  are  matters  at 
5  any  time  not  unfit  for  your  (sic)  deepest  considera- 
tions in  Parliament."  To  this  generality  we  an- 
swer with  the  logicians  that  where  all  things  are 
contained  nothing  is  omitted;  so  as  this  plenipo- 
tency  of  yours  invests  you  in  all  power  upon  earth, 
«o  lacking  nothing  but  the  Pope's  to  have  the  keys 
also  both  of  heaven  and  purgatory.  .  .  . 

And  whereas  ye  excuse  your  touching  upon  the 
King  of  Spain  .  .  .  and  yet  affirm  that  it  is  without 
any  touch  to  his  honor,  we  cannot  wonder  enough 
is  that  ye   are  so  forgetful  both  of  your  words  and 
writs.     For  in  your  former  petition  ye  plainly  affirm 
that  he  affects  the  temporal  monarchy  of  the  whole 
earth.  .  .  .  We  omit  the  particular  ejaculations  of 
some  foul-mouthed  orators  in  your  House  against 
ao  the  honor  of  his  crown  and  state.     And  touching 
your  excuse  of  not  determining  anything  concerning 
the  match  of  our  dearest  son,  but  only  to  tell  your 
opinions,  and  lay  it  down  at  our  feet;   first  we  de- 
sire to  know  how  you  could  have  presumed  to  deter- 
as  mine  in  that  point  without  committing  of  high  trea- 
son; and  next  you  cannot  deny  but  your  talking  of 
his  match  after  that  manner  was  a  direct  breach  of 
our  commandment  and  declaration  out  of  our  own 
mouth  at  the  first  sitting  down  of  this  Parliament. . . . 
>5  219 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

These  are  unfit  things  to  be  handled  in  Parliament, 
except  your  King  should  require  it  of  you:  for  who 
can  have  wisdom  to  judge  of  things  of  that  nature, 
but  such  as  are  daily  acquainted  with  the  partic- 
s  ulars  of  treaties.  .  .  .  And  besides,  the  intermeddling 
in  Parliament  in  matters  of  peace  or  war,  and  mar- 
riage of  our  dearest  son,  would  be  such  a  diminu- 
tion to  us  and  to  our  crown  in  foreign  countries,  as 
would  make  any  prince  neglect  to  treat  with  us.  ... 
10      And  although  we  cannot  allow  of  the  style,  calling 
it  "Your  ancient  and  undoubted  right  and  inheri- 
tance," but  would  rather  have  wished  that  ye  had 
said,   that  your  privileges  were  derived  from  the 
grace  and  permission  of  our  ancestors  and  us  (for 
is  most  of  them  grow  from  precedents,  which  shows 
rather  a  toleration  than  inheritance)   yet  we  are 
pleased  to  give  our  royal  assurance,  that,  as  long 
as  you  shall  continue  to  contain  yourselves  within 
the  limits  of  your  duty  and  respect  to  us.  ...  we 
20  will  be  as  careful  to  preserve  your  lawful  liberties 
and  privileges,  as  ever  any  our  predecessors  were, 
nay,  as  to  preserve  our  own  royal  prerogative:    so 
as  your  House  shall  only  need  to  beware  to  trench 
upon  the  prerogative  of  the  crown,  which  would  en- 
is  force  us,  or  any  just  King  to  retrench  them  of  their 
privileges. 
Page  331. 

[Dec.  15,  1621.]  ...  Sir  Francis  Seymour  saith.  .  .  . 
That  though  we  now  decline  the  farther  disputing 

220 


Freedom  of  Speech 

of  the  match,  the  matter  of  religion  and  war,  yet  he 
would  have  it  here  expressed  and  declared,  that  the 
consideration  of  the  religion  of  this  kingdom,  the 
safety  of  his  Majesty's  person  and  this  kingdom  are 

s  not  matters  out  of  the  cognizance  of  this  House.  .  .  . 

Mr.   Christopher  Brook  saith  that  we  have  our 

privileges  and  liberties  by  prescription,   time  out 

mind,  and  not  by  toleration.     He  would  have  a 

protestation  entered  in  the  House  that  we  claim  our 

10  privileges  as  an  inheritance  and  not  as  granted 
from  Kings  to  us.  ... 

Sir  Robert  Phelips.  ...  As  for  our  privileges  since 
his  Majesty  hath  said  we  hold  our  liberties  by  the 
grace  of  princes,  and  not  by  a  right  descended  unto 

is  us  ...  he  thinketh  that  we  are  now  to  do  something 
more  in  this  point  than  to  let  them  thus  rest.  .  .  . 
He  would  have  a  select  committee  appointed  for 
this  purpose.  .  .  . 

Mr.  Thomas  Crewe.  .  .  .  That  he  thinketh  the  walls 

20  of  this  House  would  speak  against  us,  if  we  should 
sit  still  and  leave  his  Majesty  in  dislike  of  our  styling 
our  liberties  our  undoubted  ancient  right  and  in- 
heritance. .  .  . 

Sir  Edward  Coke.  .  .  .  That  the  liberties  and  privi- 

25  leges  of  Parliament  are  the  mother  and  life  of  all 
laws,  and  laws  are  in  Parliament  in  summo  gradu  [in 
the  highest  degree].  Whereas  the  King  saith  he 
liketh  not  our  styling  of  our  liberties  our  ancient  in- 
heritance, yet  he  will  maintain  and  give  us  leave  to 

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Source  Problems  in  English  History 

enjoy  the  same,  which  indeed  striketh  at  the  root  of 
all  our  privileges.     Consuetudo  regni  [the  custom  of 
the  kingdom]  is  the  law  of  the  kingdom.  .  .  . 
Mr.  Secretary  saith  it  was  never  in  his  Majesty's 

s  mind  or  opinion  to  question  our  privileges,  but  it 

was  only  the  slip  of  a  pen  in  the  end  of  a  long  answer. 

That  he  would  have  a  committee  to  consider  hereof. 

Pages  339-342. 

[Dec.  17,  1621.     The  King's  Letter  to  Mr.  Sec- 

10  retary   Calvert.] 

. .  .  The  plain  truth  is  that  we  cannot  with  patience 
endure  our  subjects  to  use  such  anti-monarchical 
words  to  us,  concerning  their  liberties,  except  they 
had  subjoined  that  they  were  granted  unto  them 

is  by  the  grace  and  favor  of  our  predecessors.  But  as 
for  our  intention  herein,  God  knows  we  never  meant 
to  deny  them  any  lawful  privileges,  that  ever  that 
House  enjoyed  in  our  predecessors'  times  .  .  .  for 
whatsoever  liberties  or  privileges  they  enjoy  by  any 

20  law  or  statute  shall  be  ever  inviolably  preserved  by 
us,  and  we  hope  our  posterity  will  imitate  our  foot- 
steps therein.  And  whatsoever  privileges  they  en- 
joy by  long  custom  and  uncontrolled  and  lawful 
precedents,  we  will  likewise  be  as  careful  to  preserve 

25  them.  .  .  .  Let  them  go  on  cheerfully  in  their  busi- 
nesses, rejecting  the  curious  wrangling  of  lawyers 
upon  words  and  syllables.  .  .  . 

Mr.  Secretary  saith  that  it  is  not  strange  that  the 
business  of  the  House  (which  is  so  commonly  spoken 

222 


Freedom  of  Speech 

of  abroad  in  the  town)  doth  come  to  his  Majesty's 
ear;  and  he  thinketh  whosoever  hath  informed  his 
Majesty  hereof,  hath  done  a  good  office  to  the 
House.  .  .  . 

5  Sir  Edward  Coke  saith  that  we  have  now  by  this 
last  message  (as  he  conceiveth)  an  allowance  of  our 
privileges,  which  indeed  are  ours  by  law,  by  cus- 
tom, by  precedent,  and  by  act  of  Parliament.  That 
he  thinketh,  if  we  did  set  down  our  privileges  and 

10  liberties,  it  would  clear  us  of  all  those  rubs.  .  .  . 
Pages  359-360. 

[Dec.  18,  1621.     The  Protestation.] 
That  the  liberties,  franchises,  privileges,  and  juris- 
dictions   of   Parliament    are    the   ancient    and   un- 

is  doubted  birthright  and  inheritance  of  the  subjects 
of  England;  and  that  the  arduous  and  urgent 
affairs  concerning  the  King,  state  and  defence  of 
the  realm,  and  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  the 
making  and  maintenance  of  laws,  and  redress  of 

ao  mischiefs  and  grievances,  which  daily  happen  within 
this  realm,  are  proper  subjects  and  matter  of  counsel 
and  debate  in  Parliament :  and  that  in  the  handling 
and  proceeding  of  those  businesses  every  member 
of  the  House  hath,  and  of  right  ought  to  have  .  .  . 

»s  liberty  and  freedom  to  treat  of  those  matters,  in 
such  order,  as  in  their  judgments  shall  seem  fittest 
.  .  .  and  that  if  any  of  the  said  members  be  com- 
plained of  and  questioned  for  anything  said  or  done 
in  Parliament,  the  same  is  to  be  showed  to  the 

223 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

King  by  the  advice  and  consent  of  all  the  Commons 
assembled  in  Parliament,  before  the  King  give 
credence  to  any  private  information. 

It  is  ordered  .  .  .  that  this  protestation  shall  be 
s  here  entered  forthwith  in  the  book  of  the  House, 
and  there  to  remain  as  of  record. 

7.  Calendar  of  State  Papers,    Venetian,   1621-1623. 
Page  183. 

Girolamo    Lando    (Venetian    Ambassador    in 
»«  England)  to  the  Doge  and  Senate.     Dec.  23, 

1621.      [From   the   Secret    Despatches   in   the 
Venetian  Archives.] 

I  enclose  a  copy  of  the  remarkable  letter  written 
by  his  Majesty  to  bridle  the  Parliament.     I  hear 
is  that  the  Ambassador  Gondomar  [the  Spanish  am- 
bassador] had  it  the  day  before  it  was  read  in  the 
assembly  .  % . 

With   these    differences   and   passions   so  heated 

as  they  are  at  present,  it  seems  to  me  that  they  are 

20  approaching  a  very  dangerous  crisis.     I  hear  on  good 

authority  that  one  of  those  most  frequently  about  him 

[King  James]  told  him  that  if  he  does  not  now  stand 

upon  his  dignity  and  authority  and  does  not  do  what 

he  said  he  would  in  this  letter,  he  will  have  to  submit 

as  to  their  rule  ever  after,  and  will  no  longer  be  King 

except  in  show  and  appearance  only,  like  the  chief  of 

a  republic,  without  authority. 

8.  Calendar  State  Papers,  Domestic,  James  I.,  1619- 

23- 

224 


Freedom  of  Speech 

Page  326. 

[Dec.  30  (?),  1621.]  Account  of  the  King's  coming  to 
Council,  and  calling  for  the  Clerk  of  Parliament  to 
produce  the  Journal  Book  of  the  Commons,  in  which 

s  was  recorded  the  protestation  of  privileges.  He  de- 
clared himself  offended  with  it,  because  it  was  drawn 
up  after  his  repeated  assertions  of  his  wish  to  pre- 
serve all  the  liberties  of  the  House,  and  at  the  very 
time  when  he  was  receiving  a  deputation  from  them 

10  and  promising  compliance  with  their  wishes  for  an 
adjournment,  and  because  it  was  put  to  the  ques- 
tion at  six  o'clock  at  night,  when  not  a  third  of  the 
members  were  present;  also  that  it  contains  words 
which  may  be  construed  so  as  to  invade  most  of  the 

is  prerogatives  of  the  crown;  therefore  in  a  full  as- 
sembly of  Council  and  in  presence  of  the  Judges, 
his  Majesty  erased  it  from  the  Journal  Book  with 
his  own  hand,  and  ordered  an  Act  of  Council  to  be 
entered  thereof. 

ao  [Sir  Edward  Coke,  Sir  Robert  Phelips,  and  Sir  Edward 
Mallory  were  committed  to  the  Tower,  and  the  first  two 
questioned  by  members  of  the  Council  about  their  speeches 
in  Parliament.] 

9.  Notes  of  the  Parliament  of  1626  (Whitelocke). 

25  [On  May  8,  1626,  the  Commons  instituted  impeach- 
ment proceedings  against  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  min- 
ister of  Charles  I.,  and  asked  for  a  conference  with  the 
Lords.  In  that  conference  eight  members  of  the  Com- 
mons were  commissioned  to  be  managers  for  the  Lower 

30  House — i.  e.,  to  present  the  charges  made  by  that  House. 

225 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

Sir  Dudley  Digges  the  first  speaker  unwisely  mentioned 
the  death  of  James  I.,  who  was  believed  by  many  people 
at  that  time  to  have  died  from  the  effects  of  a  plaster  ad- 
ministered to  him,  and  alluded  to  Buckingham's  supposed 
$  part  in  that  transaction.  It  was  reported  to  the  King 
that  Digges  had  said  "that  he  would  therein  spare  the 
honor  of  the  King."  Sir  John  Eliot  was  the  last  speaker 
and  made  a  very  bitter  attack  upon  Buckingham,  com- 
paring him  to  Sejanus,  the  minister  of  the  Roman  Em- 

«o  peror  Tiberius.  "If  he  is  Sejanus"  the  King  was  re- 
ported to  have  said,  "then  I  am  Tiberius."  Eliot  had 
said  many  other  hard  things.  When  the  Commons  met 
on  May  nth,  Digges  and  Eliot  were  absent,  and  it  was 
soon  discovered  that  they  had  been  called  to  the  door 

«s  and  taken  to  the  Tower.] 

[May  1 2th.]  Mr.  Speaker  put  the  House  in  mind 
where  they  left  yesterday.     The  House  cry,  No. 

Mr.  Wilde.  .  .  .  Bewail  the  want   of  two  whose 
excellent  abilities,  whose  indefatigable  labors  for  pre- 
*>  serving  these  liberties  have  been  fresh  in  our  mem- 
ories.    The  cause  of  their  absence  I  cannot  but  be 
bold  to  desire  to  know.  .  .  .  Moves  we  may  consider 
of  some  way  of  remonstrance  or  declaration  to  the 
King  concerning  this,  and  desire  we  may  have  our 
»$  members  again,  and  that  we  may  punish  them  if 
they  have  done  any  offence  within  our  cognizance. 
That  we  appoint  a  committee  for  this. 

After  long  silence  Mr.  Speaker  riseth  and  said,  I 
am  sorry  to  see  so  general  sadness  and  silence.     The 
*>  House  cry,  sit  down !    But  the  Speaker  goes  on  and 
repeats  the  motion. 

226 


Freedom  of  Speech 

[The]  Vice-Chamberlain  [Sir  Dudley  Carleton]  .  .  . 
Our  evils  are  the  losses  of  some  members  of  our 
House;  the  causes  a  high  offence  the  King  takes  at 
.  .  .  words  that  passed  in  that  speech,  some  words  in 

s  the  prologue  [spoken  by  Digges]  ' '  that  he  would  then 
spare  the  honor  of  the  King  that  is  now  living."  .  .  . 
I  cannot  say  these  were  the  words  but  some  strangers 
in  our  Court  would  say  it,  and  this  depends  upon 
the  point  of  true  or  false  information.  .  .  .  This  man- 

10  ner  of  Parliament  hath  been  almost  in  every  state  in 
Christendom,  but  hath  been  altered  by  new  counsels. 
To  preserve  this  liberty  the  medium  between  right 
of  prerogative  and  tumultuary  liberty  must  be  ob- 
served.1 Moves  that  the  Speaker  may  leave  this 

is  chair  and  we  resolve  ourselves  into  a  committee 
for  consideration  of  the  remedies. 

Resolved  that  we  shall  lay  aside  an  other  business 
till  we  are  righted  in  our  liberties.  And  the  House 
shall  presently  resolve  into  a  committee  to  consider 

ao  of  the  ways  and  means  to  effect  it. 

1  In  another  account  (Per/.  Hist.,  VII,  160)  Carleton 's  implica- 
tions appear  more  clearly.  "In  all  Christian  kingdoms  you  know 
that  Parliaments  were  in  use  anciently,  by  which  their  kingdoms 
were  governed  in  a  most  flourishing  manner  until  the  monarchs 

as  began  to  show  their  own  strength,  and  seeing  the  turbulent  spirits 
of  their  Parliaments,  at  length  they,  little  by  little,  began  to  stand 
upon  their  prerogatives,  and  at  last  overthrew  the  Parliaments, 
except  here  only  with  us."  Carleton  went  on  to  compare  the  miser- 
able state  of  foreign  peasants  with  those  in  England  "like  so  many 

30  ghosts  and  not  men,"  and  hinted  that  the  same  might  come  true 
in  England.  But  the  account  here  quoted  is  probably  more  nearly 
what  Carleton  said.  (See  Lonsdale  MSS.,  p.  23.) 

227 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

Mr.  Rolles  takes  the  Chair. 

Mr.  Wandesford.  I  think  this  root  hath  sprung 
irom  the  same  root  which  all  the  rest  have  done, 
misinformation.  .  .  . 

6  Sir  John  Savile.  I  was  committed  out  of  this  House 
sitting  [in]  Parliament,  and  being  a  member  of  this 
House,  and  after  three  weeks  imprisonment  I  was 
at  the  Council  Board  and  they  asked  me  why  I  sued 
not  for  my  liberty.  I  said  I  knew  not  why  I  was 

10  committed  and  they  told  me  that  if  I  would  know 
I  must  ask  the  Queen,  and  so  sent  me  back  again  to 
prison,  but  after  in  the  Parliament,  they  only  pe- 
titioned or  made  a  remonstrance  to  the  Queen  and  I 
was  released.  But  they  would  not  determine  whether 

is  the  privilege  of  Parliament  was  broken  hereby,  nor 
the  cause  of  my  commitment  was  not  known  to  them. 
Sir  Thomas  Hobby.  That  Sir  John  Savile  was  com- 
mitted, before  the  Parliament  sat,  by  the  Council 
Table.  .  .  .  Our  remonstrance  must  be  that  this  is 

ao  unprecedented,  that  we  are  grieved  much  at  it  and 
desire  that  if  the  commitment  be  for  anything  done 
at  the  Conference  that  we  may  examine  it,  and  deter- 
mine their  punishment,  if  their  fault  be  within  our 
cognizance. 

25  Sir  John  Savile.  That  he  was  committed  fourteen 
days  after  the  Parliament  sat  and  taken  as  he  was 
coming  into  the  House. 

Resolved  that  we  shall  present  a  remonstrance  to  the 
King' touching  the  imprisonment  of  these  two  members. 

228 


Freedom  of  Speech 

[May  i3th.]  Mr.  Rolles  in  the  Chair. 

Mr.  Littleton  reports  from  the  Sub-committee.  .  .  . 

The  matter  whereupon  the  King  took  offence  at  Sir 

Dudley  Digges  that  he  should  say  by  the  command- 

s  ment  of  the  House  upon  the  particular  the  plaster 

applied  to  his  late  Majesty  that  he  forbore  to  speak 

any  further  in  regard  of  the  King's  honor,  or  words  to 

that  effect.     The  Committee  found  this  a  matter  of 

too  great  weight  for  their  consideration.     [They  refer 

i°  it  to  the  Grand  Committee  of  the  Whole  House.] 

Mr.  Littleton.  I  ...  protest  before  God  and  the 
body  of  the  Commons  by  the  faith  of  a  Christian 
that  I  heard  not  these  words  nor  any  to  this  effect. 

Resolved  that  there  shall  be  a  solemn  protestation 
is  and  [that]  it  shall  be  contained  in  the  protestation 
that  every  man  shall  say  whether  he  did  consent 
that  those  words  or  any  words  to  such  effect  should 
be  spoken  by  Sir  Dudley  Digges,  or  did  hear  any 
such  words  spoken  by  him.  .  .  . 
20      Clerk  shall  call  them  by  the  book. 

[May  1 5th.] 

[A  conference  asked  with  the  Lords  on  matters  of  "im- 
portance concerning  the  honor  of  both  Houses."] 

[May  1 6th.]  Sir  Dudley  Digges,  being  at  liberty 

as  and  sitting  in  the  House  .  .  .  gives  thanks  to  the 

House  for  their  care  of  him,  a  poor  member,  and 

makes  his  protestation  that  those  words  were  never 

in  his  thoughts.  .  .  . 

229 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  [Sir  Richard  Weston] 
...  In  the  case  of  Sir  John  Eliot,  his  business  is  some- 
thing of  another  nature.  His  Majesty  believes  that 
he  exceeded  his  commission  of  this  House;  charges 
s  him  with  some  things  that  are  extra-judicial  to  this 
House,  and  if  he  detain  him  somewhat  longer,  he 
hopes  you  will  not  take  this  as  a  breach  of  the 
privilege  of  this  House  and  desires  that  you  would 
proceed  with  the  business  of  this  House. 
«>  Sir  John  Strangeways  moves  that  the  word  extra- 
judicial  might  be  understood  and  explained. 

Resolved  to  take  the  King's  message  into  con- 
sideration to-morrow  morning. 

[May  2oth.]  Sir  John  Eliot  sent  for.     Comes  in 
*s  and  takes  his  place. 

Sir  Peter  Hayman  moves  that  Sir  John  Eliot's 
charges  may  be  made  known  to  us. 

[The  Vice-Chamberlain  addresses  the  House  on  the 
charges.  The  Speaker  puts  the  charges  one  by  one  and 

ao  Eliot  denies  or  explains  them.  Resolved  by  question 
that  Sir  John  Eliot  hath  not  exceeded  his  commission 
which  he  had  from  this  House  in  anything  which  he  spake 
at  the  Conference  with  the  Lords  concerning  the  impeach- 
ment of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham.  The  same  kind  of 

as  resolutions  were  voted  about  Digges.] 

10.  An  Account  of  the  Debate  in  Parliament  on  June 
5,  1628.     (Put  together  from  three  Sources.) 

a.  Sir  Richard  Grosvenor's  Journal. 

b.  Borlase  Manuscript  of  the  Parliament  of  1628. 
j»      c.  Rushworth,  Historical  Collections,  I,  605-610. 

230 


Freedom  of  Speech 

[The  Commons  wished  in  1628  to  enact  a  law  under 
which  the  King's  ministers  could  be  punished  if  they  re- 
peated their  past  arbitrary  acts.  But  the  King  forced 
them  to  the  weaker  procedure  of  petition.  The  result 
s  was  the  famous  Petition  of  Right.  It  was  a  clear-cut  and 
forceful  statement  of  principles,  but  is  was  not  wholly 
satisfactory  as  an  immediate  and  practical  remedy  for 
abuses.  Eliot,  as  leader  of  those  who  were  most  intent 
upon  bringing  the  Duke  of  Buckingham  to  account, 
10  waited  only  for  the  King  to  answer  the  Petition  of  Right 
to  begin  his  attack.  His  speech  of  June  3d  led  to  plans 
for  a  remonstrance.  When  the  King  got  wind  of  this  he 
sent  his  message  of  the  5th.] 

[Rush.]  Another  message  was  brought  from  his 
is  Majesty  by  the  Speaker.   .   .   .  His  Majesty  .   .   . 
requires    them   that   they  enter  not  into  or  pro- 
ceed  with   any   new   business,   which    may   spend 
greater  time,   or  which  may  lay   any   scandal   or 
aspersion  upon  the  state,  government,  or  ministers 
ao  thereof. 

[BorL]  Sir  John  Eliot.  ...  I  perceive  in  the  message 
this  sad  particular  that  those  things  which  were  ap- 
pointed to  have  been  the  work  of  this  day  are  sus- 
pected as  scandals  or  aspersions.  I  think  the  chief 
»s  work  of  this  day  was  to  propose  ways  of  vindicating 
his  honor.  I  doubt  he  thinks  we  mean  his  own  min- 
isters which  are  no  way  equal  to  aspersions  laid 
upon  his  people. 

Mr.  Speaker.    A  strict  command  lies  upon  me 
*•  from  his  Majesty  that  you  do  not  meddle  with  par- 

231 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

ticulars.  I  beseech  you  take  heed  and  do  not  blame 
me  for  telling  you  so. 

[Grosv.]  Sir  Dudley  Digges.  .  .  .  The  message  was  of 

this  nature,  and   so   contrary  to   the  fundamental 

s  liberties   of   this   House   that  he  wished  Sir  John 

Eliot  to  cease  further  speaking  and  that  we  might 

sit  in  silence. 

Sir  Nath[aniel]  Rich.  This  is  the  most  remarkable 
time,  the  most  noted  occasion  that  was  ever  in  Par- 
»o  liament.  .  .  .  Either  we  must  now  speak  or  forever 
hold  our  peace.  ...  I  move  to  go  altogether  to  the 
Lords  House  there  to  declare  the  violation  of  liber- 
ties of  England.  .  .  . 

Mr.  Pym  .  .  .  moved  for  a  committee  to  resolve 
is  of  the  several  heads  of  the  violation  of  the  liberties, 
of  the  danger  of  this  kingdom. 

Sir  Robert  Phelips.  This  may  be  the  last  time  I 

shall  speak  in  this  House.     No  fear  that  can  befall 

me  through  misinformation  from  my  sovereign,  for 

»o  my  heart  shall  be  right  to  him,  my  prayers  shall 

be  directed  to  God  for  him  (here  he  wept).  .  .  . 

Moved  that  we  may  with  one  unanimity  declare 

each  man  that  nothing  hath  passed  unfit  or  unduti- 

fully  from  any  member  of  this  House;   which  was 

as  by  question  done. 

Sir  Ed.  Giles.  We  sit  as  men  daunted.  Let  us 
put  on  the  spirit  of  Englishmen  and  speak  to  pur- 
pose. .  .  . 

[By  question  resolved  into  a  grand  committee  to 
232 


Freedom  of  Speech 

consider  what  was  fit  for  the  House  to  do  about 
the  message.} 

[Borl.]  Mr.  Speaker  desired  leave  upon  the  nam- 
ing of  some  one  to  sit  in  the  chair  for  the  committee 
s  to  leave  the  House  for  half  an  hour.1 

Mr.  Whitby  in  the  Chair. 

[Grosv.]  Mr.  Wansford Wished  all  of  us  to  recol- 
lect our  spirits  and  to  do  that  which  shall  be  fit  for 
Englishmen.  .  .  .  Two  propositions,  whether  to  go  to 
10  the  King  or  to  the  Lords.  I  think  it  not  fit  [to  go]  to 
the  Lords.  This  business  principally  concerns  our 
own  liberties.  ...  If  we  must  not  speak  of  ministers, 
what  must  we  do?  Moved  to  make  a  remonstrance 
of  our  right  to  speak  of  our  griefs  and  of  ministers 
is  ill  deserving.  .  .  .  Moved  to  go  to  the  King  and  ac- 
quaint him  what  we  were  about;  to  tell  him  that 
which  none  else  durst. 

[Rush.]  Sir  Edward  Coke  [quotes  the  precedents  to 
show  that  men  who  misled  the  King  may  be  attacked 
20  in  Parliament].  Nothing  grows  to  abuse  but  this 
House  hath  power  to  treat  of  it.  What  shall  we 
do?  Let  us  palliate  no  longer;  if  we  do,  God  will 
not  prosper  us.  I  think  the  Duke  of  Buckingham 

1 A  manuscript  account  of  this  Parliament  in  the  possession  of 

as  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society  says  of  the  Speaker's  departure: 

"Note  that  the  Speaker,  seeing  the  House  so  moved  in  the  morning 

and  none  scarce  able  to  speak,  and  himself  also  in  that  condition, 

desired  leave  to  go  out  awhile,  which  was  granted,  and  he  went  to 

the  King  and  stayed  with  him  till  near  12  of  the  clock  and  then  re- 

30  turned."     Fol.   2i8verso.   Rushworth  says  he  was  absent   three 

hours. 

233 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

is  the  cause  of  all  our  miseries  .  .  .  that  man  is  the 
grievance  of  grievances.1 

[The  Commons  then  proceed  with  their  remon- 
strance, just  what  they  were  forbidden  to  do  by  the 
t  message.] 

[June  6th.  Mr.  Speaker  brings  another  message 
from  the  King.  .  .  .] 

His  Majesty  understanding  that  ye  did  conceive 
that  his  last  message  to  restrain  you  in  your  just 
"  privileges  to  complain  of  any  of  his  ministers;  these 
are  to  declare  his  intentions,  that  he  hath  no  mean- 
ing of  barring  you  from  what  hath  been  your  right, 
but  only  to  avoid  all  scandals  on  his  Council  and 
actions  past,  and  that  his  ministers  might  not  be, 
is  nor  himself,  under  their  names,  taxed  for  their 
counsel  unto  his  Majesty,  and  that  no  such  particu- 
lars should  be  taken  in  hand  as  would  ask  a  longer 
time  of  consideration  than  what  he  hath  prefixed. 

[In  the  short  session  of  Parliament  in  1629  that  followed 

ao  Buckingham's  murder,  the  Commons  attacked  Charles's 

ecclesiastical  policy  and  his  claims  to  tonnage  and  pound- 

1  Rushworth  copies  a  very  interesting  letter  about  this  day's 
session  written  by  Mr.  Alured  to  "old  Mr.  Chamberlain  of  the 
Court  of  Wards."  He  tells  of  the  King's  message  and  goes  on: 

as  "Then  Sir  Robert  Phelips  spake  and  mingled  his  words  with 
weeping.  Mr.  Prynne  [Pym]  did  the  like,  and  Sir  Edward  Coke, 
overcome  with  passion,  seeing  the  desolation  likely  to  ensue,  was 
forced  to  sit  down  when  he  began  to  speak  through  the  abundance 
of  tears;  yea  the  Speaker  in  his  speech  could  not  refrain  from  weep- 

30  ing  and  shedding  of  tears;  besides  a  great  many  whose  great  griefs 
made  them  dumb  and  silent.  Yet  some  bore  up  in  that  storm  and 
encouraged  others." 

234 


Freedom  of  Speech 

age.  On  March  2d  the  King  sent  an  order  adjourning 
Parliament  until  the  loth.  The  Commons,  fearing  that 
a  dissolution  would  follow,  determined  to  bring  in  a  decla- 
ration concerning  religion  and  tonnage  and  poundage. 

s  The  Speaker  was  just  leaving  the  chair  in  accordance 
with  the  order  for  an  adjournment  when  Denzil  Holies 
and  Benjamin  Valentine  took  hold  of  him  and  kept  him 
in  his  seat  while  Sir  John  Eliot  rose  to  move  three  resolu- 
tions which  he  and  his  friends  had  drafted.  A  fearful 

10  tumult  ensued,  but  the  resolutions  read  by  Holies  were 
passed.  Then  the  doors  were  unlocked  and  the  armed 
officers  of  the  King  walked  in.  It  had  been  a  stormy 
scene,  and  the  sequel  was  the  prosecution  of  Holies, 
Valentine,  and  Eliot.  Informations  against  them  in  the 

is  Star  Chamber  were  transferred  to  the  Court  of  the  King's 
Bench.  There  they  were  prosecuted  for  conspiracy,  and 
Eliot  in  addition  for  seditious  words  in  Parliament.] 

ii.  Cobbett's  State  Trials,  III.    (Proceedings  against 

Sir  John  Eliot,  Denzil  Holies,  Esq.,  and  Ben- 

ao  jamin  Valentine,  Esq.,  for  seditious  speeches 

in  Parliament.     1630.) 
Pages  293-294. 

Sir  Robert  Heath,  the  King's  Attorney-General, 
exhibited  informations  .  .  .  that  the  said  Eliot  pub- 
»s  licly  and  maliciously  in  the  House  of  Commons,  to 
raise  sedition  between  the  King,  his  nobles  and  peo- 
ples, uttered  these  words,  "That  the  Council  and 
Judges  had  all  conspired  to  trample  underfoot  the 
liberties  of  the  subjects." 

30  [The  attorney  further  alleges  that  the  three  above  men- 
tioned were  guilty  by  "confederacy  aforehand "  of  uttering 
16  235 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

a  long-continued  speech,  with  malicious  and  seditious 
words,  of  holding  the  Speaker  in  his  chair,  etc.  The  de- 
fendants pleaded  .  .  .  that  these  offences  had  been  done 
in  Parliament  and  ought  not  to  be  punished  in  any  other 
s  court.  The  judgment  of  the  Court  was  pronounced  as 
follows] : 

Pages  309-310. 

The  matter  of  the  information  now,  by  the  con- 
fession of  the  defendants,  is  admitted  to  be  true, 

10  and  we  think  their  plea  to  the  jurisdiction  insufficient 
for  the  matter  and  manner  of  it.  And  we  hereby 
will  not  draw  the  true  liberties  of  Parliament  men 
into  question;  to  wit,  for  such  matters  which  they 
do  or  speak  in  a  parliamentary  manner.  But  in 

is  this  case  there  was  a  conspiracy  between  the  de- 
fendants to  slander  the  state,  and  to  raise  sedition 
and  discord  between  the  King,  his  peers,  and  people, 
and  this  was  not  a  parliamentary  course.  All  the 
judges  of  England  except  one  have  resolved  the 

20  statute  of  4  H.  8  [Strode  statute1]  to  be  a  private  act, 
and  to  extend  to  Strode  only.  But  every  member 
of  the  Parliament  shall  have  such  privileges  as  are 
there  mentioned;  but  they  have  no  privilege  to 
speak  at  their  pleasure.  The  Parliament  is  an  high 

as  court,  therefore  it  ought  not  to  be  disorderly,  but 
ought  to  give  good  example  to  other  courts.  If  a 
judge  of  our  court  should  rail  upon  the  state,  or 
clergy,  he  is  punishable  for  it.  A  member  of  the  Par- 

1  See  The  Setting,  p.  172. 
236 


Freedom  of  Speech 

liament  may  charge  any  great  officer  of  the  state 
with  any  particular  offence;  but  this  was  a  ma- 
levolous  accusation  in  the  generality  of  all  the  officers 
of  state,  therefore  the  matter  contained  within  the 
s  information  is  a  great  offence,  and  punishable  in 
this  court. 

[The  three  were  to  be  imprisoned  during  the  King's 
pleasure,  to  pay  heavy  fines,  and  not  to  be  delivered  until 
they  gave  security  for  good  behavior  and  acknowledged 
"  their  offences.] 

12.  Commons  Journals,  II.       (July  6,  1641.) 
Page  200. 

Resolved,  that  the  exhibiting  of  an  information 
in  the  Court  of  Star  Chamber  against  Mr.  Holies 

is  and  the  rest  for  matters  done  by  them  in  Parlia- 
ment, being  members  of  the  Parliament,  and  the 
same  so  appearing  in  the  information,  is  a  breach  of 
the  privilege  in  Parliament. 

[July  8,   1641.]  Resolved,   that  the   exhibiting   of 

*>  the  information  against  Mr.  Holies,  Sir  John  Eliot 
and  Mr.  Valentine  in  the  King's  Bench,  being  mem- 
bers of  the  Parliament,  for  matter  done  in  Parlia- 
ment, was  a  breach  of  the  privilege  of  Parliament. 

13.  Lords  Journals,  XII.     (Dec.  u,  1667.) 
as      Page  164. 

Next  the  Lord  Chamberlain  and  the  Lord  Ashley 
reported  the  effect  of  the  conference  with  the  House 
of  Commons  yesterday,  which  was  managed  by  Mr. 
Vaughan,  who  said, 

237 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

He  was  commanded  by  the  House  of  Commons  to 
acquaint  their  Lordships  with  some  resolves  of  their 
House  concerning  the  freedom  of  speech  in  Parlia- 
ment, and  to  desire  their  Lordships'  concurrence 
s  therein.  [Vaughan  discusses  in  detail  the  trial  of 
Eliot,  Holies,  and  Valentine  before  the  King's 
Bench,  as  well  as  its  relation  to  the  Strode  case  of 
1512.] 

[After  this  the  Votes  were  read,  vid.] 
10      Page  1 66. 

"Resolved  that  the  Act  of  Parliament  .  .  .  com- 
monly entitled  'An  Act  concerning  Richard  Strode,' 
is  a  general  law.  .  .  . 

"Resolved  that  the  Judgment  given  .  .  .  against 
is  Sir  John  Eliot,  Denzil  Holies  and  Benjamin  Valen- 
tine, Esquires,  in  the  King's  Bench,  was  an  illegal 
judgment,  and  against  the  freedom  and  privilege  of 
Parliament." 

[To  both  which  votes  the  Lords  agree  with  the 
*>  House  of  Commons.] 

14.  The  student  should  read  in  conclusion  the  article 
in  the  Bill  of  Rights  concerning  free  speech 
(See  App.,  p.  406). 


PROBLEM  VI 

VI. — The  English  Parish  and  the  New  England 
Town-Meeting 


The    English   Parish   and   the   New 
England   Town-Meeting 

I.   THE   HISTORICAL   SETTING   OP   THE    PROBLEM 

'T'HE  parish  of  the  seventeenth  century  was  a  singu- 
1  lar  combination  of  the  ecclesiastical  and  the  secular. 
It  was  ecclesiastical  in  its  origin.  The  powerful  man 
who  gave  land  for  a  church  and  for  the  living  of  the 
clergyman  was  providing  for  the  people  on  his  estate; 
the  church  was  looking  to  it  that  every  vill  had  its  church 
and  priest.  Hence  in  the  south  of  England  the  parish 
came  to  be,  at  least  in  the  country,  coterminous  with  the 
manor  or  vill.  In  the  north  the  parish  sometimes  in- 
cluded several  vills.  But  however  related  to  the  vill, 
the  parish  was  an  ecclesiastical  unit  and  at  first  no  more 
than  that ;  it  was  the  territory  which  included  those  peo- 
ple over  whom  the  priest  exercised  spiritual  care,  but  that 
territory  was  not  necessarily  continuous.  There  are  evi- 
dences that  some  time  about  the  fourteenth  century  a 
new  function  began  to  develop  in  the  parish;  it  came  to 
have  a  vestry — i.  e.,  a  meeting  of  parishioners,  usually 
after  church  on  Sunday.  Maitland  has  suggested  that 
the  vestry,  like  Parliament,  arose  from  the  need  of  money. 
The  repair  of  the  church  and  the  up-keep  of  appurte- 
nances were  met  at  first  perhaps  by  voluntary  contribu- 

241 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

tions.  But  when  a  good  deal  of  money  had  to  be  secured 
the  parishioners  were  called  together  by  the  priest  now 
and  again  for  consultation.  They  were  called  together 
until  one  fine  day  they  had  acquired  the  right  to  be  sum- 
moned and  to  vote  "rates."  The  voting  of  rates  meant 
that  there  was  church  property  to  look  after,  and  so  we 
naturally  find  churchwardens  appearing  whose  duty  it 
was  to  maintain  the  church  and  to  keep  track  of  its 
"temporal  estate."  They  were  selected  by  the  vestry 
and  performed  functions  purely  secular. 

The  parish  had  originated  as  an  ecclesiastical  unit.  It 
had  been  superimposed  upon  a  secular  local  unit,  the  vill 
or  manor.  With  the  decline  of  feudalism  and  with  the 
growing  needs  of  more  local  government  the  secular  func- 
tions necessary  to  a  community  were  superimposed  upon 
the  ecclesiastical  framework.  This  can  be  seen  in  the 
offices  of  petty  constable,  of  the  surveyors  of  the  high- 
ways, or  "waymen,"  and  of  the  overseers  of  the  poor. 
As  the  manorial  courts  lost  their  influence  the  police  duties 
which  had  been  attached  to  them  were  put  upon  the 
parish.  The  petty  constable  or  "borsholder" — the  suc- 
cessor of  the  tithing-man — who  was  to  maintain  the  peace 
had  become  in  many  cases,  at  some  time  before  the  six- 
teenth century,  a  parish  official.  The  surveyors  of  the 
highways,  who  were  subordinate  to  the  churchwardens, 
appear  under  the  Tudors,  as  do  the  overseers  of  the  poor. 
By  the  last  half  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  parish  had 
in  this  manner  become  an  institution  more  important 
in  its  secular  than  in  its  ecclesiastical  functions.  It  had 
indeed  become  something  more  than  an  ecclesiastical  in- 
stitution upon  which  secular  functions  had  been  imposed; 
it  had  become  a  means  of  local  self-government,  it  had 
made  possible  the  Elizabethan  Poor  Laws. 

It  was  never,  however,  to  become  quite  what  it  might 

242 


The  Parish  and  the  Town-Meeting 

have  been,  or  what  the  New  England  town  was  to  be- 
come. Its  growth  as  a  self-governing  unit  was  contrary 
to  the  tendency  of  Tudor  rule.  Already  through  the  jus- 
tices of  peace  the  Tudor  government  was  reaching  out 
long  fingers  for  the  manipulation  of  the  parishes.  And 
the  vestry,  a  thoroughly  democratic  mechanism,  had  al- 
ready begun  in  some  communities  to  give  place  to  a  more 
exclusive  organization.  The  select  vestry  was  to  grow  up 
within  the  vestry,  as  the  cabinet  within  the  council,  and 
was  to  fall  heir  to  the  functions  of  its  parent.  This  proc- 
ess, however,  was  slow  and  cannot  be  said  to  have  gone 
far  or  to  have  become  general — it  never  did  become  uni- 
versal— by  the  time  of  the  Stuart  period. 

It  was  during  the  reign  of  the  early  Stuarts  that  New 
England  was  settled.  There,  as  settlements  spread  out 
from  Plymouth  or  as  they  were  made  around  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  the  pressure  of  local  needs  made  local  govern- 
ment necessary.  Rights  of  pasture  had  to  be  determined, 
land  had  to  be  divided  up,  "towns"  were  organized.  It 
is  not  surprising  that  the  form  and  functioning  of  these 
towns  should  remind  us  of  English  parishes  of  the  time. 
We  meet  in  New  England  with  officials  whose  titles  are 
familiar;  those  officials  have  duties  very  similar  to  the 
duties  performed  in  the  parish.  Even  a  brief  examina- 
tion of  the  features  common  to  the  English  and  the 
New  England  institution  makes  it  evident  that  a  com- 
parison is  worth  while.  In  that  comparison  it  must 
not  be  forgotten  that  the  people  of  New  England 
were  living  in  primitive  conditions  long  since  outgrown 
in  England. 

The  New  England  town  became,  as  has  been  said,  a 
more  important  organ  of  local  government  than  the  Eng- 
lish parish  had  ever  been.  It  is  not  difficult  to  see  why. 
The  New  England  town  was  not  overshadowed  by  the 

243 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

county — it  had  hardened  into  shape  before  the  county 
became  important — it  was  not  interfered  with  by  the 
justices  of  peace,  at  any  rate  not  until  later.  Nor  was 
the  town-meeting  robbed  of  its  functions  by  a  meddle- 
some central  government.  Its  democratic  tendency  was 
reinforced  by  the  popular  character  of  the  church  govern- 
ment which  Puritanism  brought  in  its  train.  As  a  result 
the  town  became  a  most  important  fiscal,  military,  and 
political  unit  and  the  town-meeting  became  a  character- 
istic feature  of  New  England  life. 

The  following  extracts  touch  only  a  few  of  the  manifold 
activities  of  the  English  parish  and  of  the  New  England 
town.  It  is  hoped  that  they  are  full  enough  to  indicate 
some  of  the  similarities  and  some  of  the  differences. 


II.    INTRODUCTIONS   TO   THE    SOURCES 

It  will  be  readily  seen  that  the  source  materials  used  in 
this  problem  are  of  three  kinds.  Sources  1,2,  and  3  be- 
long to  a  rather  unusual  type.  They  are  descriptive  works 
of  lawyers,  compilations  based  upon  the  statutes  of  Parlia- 
ment, the  canon  law,  and  the  decisions  of  the  judges. 
The  writers  endeavored  to  give  expositions  of  the  law 
and  custom  about  local  officials  and  to  do  it  without  per- 
sonal or  partisan  basis. 

A  second  type  of  material  is  exemplified  by  sources 
4,  5,  6,  7,  and  9.  Here  are  records  of  the  meetings  of 
parish,  town,  and  selectmen.  Such  official  documents 
are  of  course  much  safer  evidence  as  to  how  local  institu- 
tions worked  than  the  observations  of  lawyers,  save 
where  they  are  quoting  from  the  law. 

A  third  type  of  material  is  to  be  found  in  Source  8, 
John  Winthrop's  Journal.  Winthrop  left  an  invaluable 

244 


The  Parish  and  the  Town-Meeting 

diary  of  events  in  Massachusetts.  He  was  a  chief  par- 
ticipant in  the  events  he  tells  about  and  he  was  a  pains- 
taking kind  of  man. 

1.  The  Duties  of  Constables,  Borsholders,  Tything-men 
and  such  other  Low  and  Lay  Ministers  of  the  Peace,  where- 
unto  be  adfoyned,  the  severall  offices  of  Church  Ministers  and 
Churchwardens,  and  Overseers  for  the  Poore,  Surveighours  of 
the  highwaies,   and   distributors  of  the  provision  against 
noysome  fowle   and   vermine.     First    collected    (1581)    by 
William  Lombard  of  Lincolnes  Inn,  Gent.,  and  now  en- 
larged in  the  yeare  1604.     London,  1604. 

2.  The  Offices  and  Duties  of  Constables,  Borsholders, 
Tything-men,  Treasurers  of  the  County-stock,  Overseers  for 
the  Poore  and  other  lay-Ministers.     By  William  Sheppard, 
of  the  Middle  Temple,  Esq.     London,  1641. 

3.  A  Guide  for  Constables,  Churchwardens,  Overseers  of 
the  Poor,  Surveyors  of  the  Highways,   Treasurers  of  the 
County  Stock,  Masters  of  the  House  of  Corrections,  Baylijjs, 
of  Mannours,  Toll.  Takers  in  Fairs,  etc.     Collected  by  Geo. 
Meriton,  Gent.     London,   1669. 

4.  The   Annals    of   St.   Helen's,  Bishopsgate,    London. 
Edited  by  the  Rev.  John  Edmund  Cox,  D.D.,  London, 
1876.     Includes  Vestry  Records  from  1558  to  1812. 

5.  Illustrations  of  the  Manners  and  Expences  of  Antient 
Times  in  England,  in  the  Fifteenth,  Sixteenth,  and  Seven- 
teenth Centuries,  Deduced  from   the  Accomts   of  Church- 
wardens, and  other  Authentic  Documents.     Collected  from 
various  parts  of  the  Kingdom,  with  explanatory  notes.     By 
John  Nichols,  London,  1797. 

Our  sources  quote  from  this  volume  the  Churchwardens' 
accounts  of  St.  Margaret's,  Westminster,  and  of  Wigtoft, 
Lincolnshire.  Nichols  took  his  copies  from  MSS.  pre- 
served in  the  churches. 

6.  Boston  Town  Records,  1634-1661.     (Published  from 

245 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

the  MS.  records  kept  by  the  town  clerk.)     Second  Report 
of  Boston  Record  Commissioners.     Boston,  1877. 

7.  Records  of  Boston  Selectmen,  1701-77/5.     Report  of 
the  Record  Commissioners  of  Boston.     Boston,  1884. 

8.  Winthrop's  Journal  "  History  of  New  England,"  1630— 
1649.     2  vols.     Ed.  by  J.  K.  Hosmer,  New  York,  1908. 

9.  Town  and  Selectmen's  Records,  Newtowne  and  Cam- 
bridge, 1630-1703.     Printed  by  order  of  the  city  council 
under  the  direction  of  the  city  clerk.     Cambridge,  1901. 


HI.   QUESTIONS   AND   SUGGESTIONS   FOR  STUDY 

j.  Who  were  the  chief  executive  and  administrative  officers  in 

town  and  parish? 
a.  What  were  the  duties  of  these  officers?    How  was  each 

chosen? 

3.  What  was  the  chief  legislative  body  of  the  parish?    Of  the 

town?    Compare  them  as  to  power  exercised. 

4.  What  part  did  the  justice  of  peace  play  in  parish  affairs? 

By  whom  were  the  corresponding  functions  exercised 
in  the  town? 

5.  What  about  the  exercise  of  judicial  power  in  parish  and 

town? 

6.  Compare  the  elective  power  of  the  vestry  and  the  town- 

meeting. 

7.  Do  you  find  anything  in  the  sources  about  the  parish  that 

seems  to  be  like  a  select  vestry? 

8.  Compare  the  appointing  power  of  the  churchwardens  and 

selectmen. 

9.  What  persons  were  liable  to  service  as  constables?    What 

persons  were  liable  to  serve  in  the  other  offices? 

10.  What  provisions  were  made  for  military  protection  and 

training  in  parish  and  town? 

11.  What  provisions  were  taken  to  prevent  persons  who  might 

become  a  public  charge  from  entering  the  parish  or 
town? 

246 


The  Parish  and  the  Town-Meeting 

12.  By  what  process  were  they  relieved  from  the  presence  of 

undesirable  persons? 

13.  How  were  rates  made  in  each?    For  what  were  they  made? 

14.  Compare  the  excise  regulations  in  the  two. 

15.  How  were  highways  and  bridges  cared  for  in  each? 

1 6.  What  precautions  were  taken  to  prevent  fires? 

17.  How  were  the  rights  of  individuals  sometimes  subordinated 

to  those  of  the  community  at  large? 

1 8.  What  provisions  were  made  for  the  care  of  the  poor  in 

each? 

19.  What  provisions  were  made  for  education? 

20.  What  provisions  were  made  for  the  support  of  the  clergyman 

in  the  town?  in  the  parish  (where  there  was  no  benefice 
or  endowment)? 

21.  Make  a  list  of  all  the  officers  of  the  parish  and  of  the  town 

and  of  their  several  duties. 


IV.     The   Sources 

i.  Lambard:    Duties  of  Constables.     [1604.] 
Page  5. 

So  then,  the  name  of  constable  in  a  hundred  or 
franchise  doth  mean  that  he  is  an  officer  that  sup- 
.5  porteth  the  King's  Majesty  in  the  maintenance  of 
his  peace,   within  the  precinct  of  his  hundred  or 
franchise;    and  he  is  many  times  called  the  high- 
constable,  in  comparison  of  the  constables,  or  petty 
constables,  that  be  in  the  towns  or  parishes  within 
10  his  hundred  or  franchise :  whose  part  it  likewise  is, 
to  maintain  the  peace  within  the  several  limits  of 
their  own  towns  or  parishes.  .  .  . 
Page  12. 

But  now,  for  the  better  preventing  that  nothing 
is  be  done  against  the  peace,  any  of  these  officers  afore- 
said [constables,  etc.]  may  take  or  arrest  suspected 
persons,  which  walk  in  the  night  and  sleep  in  the 
day.  .  .  .  Any  of  these  officers  may  also  arrest  such 
strange  persons  as  do  walk  abroad  in  the  night  sea- 
so  son:    and  for  that  cause  the  said  statute  of  Win- 
chester did  ordain  that  night  watches  should  be 
kept  yearly  from  the  feast  of  the  Ascension  until 

248 


The  Parish  and  the  Town-Meeting 
* 

Michaelmas,  by  six  men  at  every  gate  of  every 
city,  by  twelve  men  in  every  borough  town,  and  in 
every  other  town  by  six  men  or  four  men,  accord- 
ing to  the  number  of  inhabitants  in  the  town,  all 

s  the  night  long,  from  sun  setting  to  sun  rising.  .  .  . 
And  of  these  watches  the  officers  beforenamed  have 
the  charge  within  the  limits   (or  places)   of  their 
authorities.  .  .  . 
Page  19. 

10  Albeit  then,  that  their  said  officers  [constables] 
be  subject  to  the  commandments  ...  of  other  officers 
.  .  .  yet  because  most  commonly  they  are  called  upon 
by  the  justices  of  peace,  they  ought  specially  to  show 
themselves  obedient  to  their  precepts,  who  (as  it  may 

*  s  appear  by  some  old  precedents)  have  authority  to 
remove  insufficient  constables  and  borsholders,  and 
to  substitute  able  persons  in  their  place.  .  .  . 
Page  30. 
The  constables  of  hundreds  and  franchises  ought 

20  to  make  presentment  to  the  justices  of  peace  and 
to  all  other  justices  thereto  assigned,  of  the  defaults 
of  watches,  and  of  the  defaults  of  the  King's  high- 
ways, .  .  .  and  also  of  such  as  lodge  strangers  in  up- 
landish  towns,  for  whom  they  will  not  answer.  .  .  . 

as      Page  37. 

In  default  of  agreement  of  the  parishioners  be- 
tween themselves,  the  constables  and  churchwardens 
of  each  parish  (or  the  more  part  of  them)  may  rate 
and  allot  within  their  parish  their  assessment  for 

249 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

the  stock  of  the  shire  wherewith  that  parish  was 
charged  at  the  Quarter  Sessions :  and  they  also  may 
levy  the  same  upon  any  parishioner,  by  distress, 
and  sale  of  his  goods,  tendering  the  overplus  unto 
s  him,  43.  Eliz.  cap.  2.  &  3.  ... 

Page  49. 

Every  city,  borough,  and  market  town,  that  have 
a  constable,  ought  also  to  have  common  measures 
sealed,  and  also  common  weights  sealed,  at  which 
jo  the  inhabitants  may  freely  weigh.  .  .  . 

Page  50. 

Those  four  justices  of  peace  that  be  authorized 
by  the  statute  to  make  taxation  of  money  for  the 
amendment  of  any  decayed  bridge  in  the  highway, 
is  ought  to  make  that  taxation  by  the  assent  of  the 
constables  or  two  of  the  most  honest  inhabitants  of 
every  town  or  parish. 

In  all  cities,  boroughs  and  towns  wherein  no  war- 
dens of  cowpers  [coopers]  be,  [the  constables  or  head 
ao  officers]  have  power  to  search,  view  and  gauge  barrels, 
kilderkins,  firkins  and  other  vessels.  .  .  . 

Page  60. 

The  churchwardens  of  parishes  be  taken  (in  favor 
of  the  church)  to  be  for  some  purposes  a  manner  of 
as  corporation  at  the  common  law:  that  is  to  say, 
persons  enabled  by  that  name,  to  take  movable 
goods  or  chattels  and  to  sue  and  be  sued  at  the  law, 
concerning  such  goods  for  the  use  and  profit  of  their 
parish.  .  .  . 

350 


The  Parish  and  the  Town-Meeting 

[If  they  wasted  or  misspent  the  parish  money  the 
parishioners  might  bring  suit  to  force  a  reckoning 
and  could  remove  them  by  the  election  of  new 
churchwardens.] 
5      Page  64. 

All  persons   inhabiting   within  the  King's  Maj- 
esty's Dominion  shall  diligently  and  faithfully  (hav- 
ing no  lawful  or  reasonable  excuse  to  be  absent) 
endeavor  themselves  to  resort  to  their  parish  church 
10  or  chapel  accustomed  .  .  .  [on  penalty  of  fine]. 
Page  65. 

The  constables  and  churchwardens  of  every  par- 
ish shall  yearly  .  .  .  call  together  a  number  of  the 
parishioners,   and  shall  then  elect  and  choose  two 
15  honest  persons  of  the  parish  to  be  surveyors  and 
orderers  of  the  works  for  one  year,  for  amendment 
of  the  highways  in  their  parish,  leading  to  any  mar- 
ket  town;    which   persons   shall   take   upon    them 
the  execution  of  their  said  offices  [upon  penalty  of 
30  XXs].    And  the  said  constables  and  churchwardens 
shall  then  also  name  and  appoint  six  days  for  the 
amendment  of  the  said  highways  before  midsummer 
then  next  following;  and  shall  openly  in  the  church 
the  next  Sunday  after  Easter  give  knowledge  of  the 
as  same  six  days.     [All  persons  holding  land  in   the 
parish  were  to  furnish  service  in  men,  horses  and 
find  carts  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  land  held.] 
Page  67. 

The  churchwardens  and  four,  three,  or  two  others 
17  251 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

of  every  parish,  appointed  by  the  two  justices  of 
peace  to  be  overseers  of  the  poor  there  (or  the  more 
part  of  them),  may  by  the  consent  of  two  justices, 
from  time  to  time  take  order  for  setting  to  work  all 
s  persons  married  or  unmarried  that  have  no  means 
or  ordinary  trade  to  live  by,  and  the  children  of  such 
parents  as  shall  be  thought  unable  to  maintain 
them.  .  .  . 
Page  78. 

10  Every  person  or  persons  that  shall  not  repair,  ditch, 
or  scour  any  hays  [hedges],  fences,  ditches,  or  hedges 
adjoining  to  any  highway  or  common  faring  way  or 
shall  not  cut  down  or  keep  low  all  trees  and  bushes, 
growing  in  or  next  adjoining  to  any  the  said  ways  .  .  . 

is  shall  forfeit  and  lose  for  every  default  Xs.  .  .  . 
Page  89. 

And  if  any  innkeeper,  alehouse  -  keeper,  or  vic- 
tualer  shall  at  any  time  utter  or  sell  less  than  one 
full  ale  quart  of  the  best  beer  or  ale  for  a  penny,  and 

*o  of  the  small,  two  quarts  for  one  penny,  that  then 
every  such  .  .  .  shall  forfeit  .  .  .  the  sum  of  XXs.  .  .  , 
All  and  every  the  said  penalties  to  be  levied  by  the 
constables  or  churchwardens.  .  .  . 
2.  Sheppard:  Offices  and  Duties  of  Constables.  [1641.] 

as      Page  17. 

And  if  because  the  common  course  is  everywhere 
to  put  these  offices  upon  the  meaner  sort  of  men, 
the  more  able  sort  do  think  themselves  thereby 
exempted,  they  are  therein  much  deceived. 

252 


The  Parish  and  the  Town-Meeting 

Page  87. 

None  may  purposely,  by  word  or  deed  (as  by  talk- 
ing, laughing,  hemming,  or  the  like)  without  authority, 
disturb  a  Minister  in  his  preaching  of  the  word,  [or  in 
s  any  church  service] ;  and  if  any  do  so,  any  one  of  the 
constables  or  churchwardens  of  the  place  may  of  his 
own  authority  presently  apprehend  him,  and  carry 
him  to  a  justice  of  peace  of  the  same  county.  .  .  . 

Page  128. 

10      If  any  person  without  lawful  license  take  upon  him 

...  to  keep  a  common  alehouse  or  tippling-house, 

or  use  commonly  selling  of  ale,  beer,  cider,  or  perry, 

'   he  shall  forfeit  for  every  such  offence  20$.  to  the 

use  of  the  poor  of  the  place.  .  .  . 
is      Page  205. 

If  all  this  labor  appointed  by  the  statutes  to  be 
bestowed  on  the  highways  be  not  sufficient  for  the 
amendment  thereof,  the  parish  must  supply  it;   for 
the  parishioners  of  every  parish  are  to  look  to  their 
20  highways  that  they  be  well  repaired  and  kept  at 
their  peril.  .  .  . 
Page  219. 

No  man  is  to  be  put  out  of  the  town  where  he 
dwelleth,  nor  to  be  sent  to  his  place  of  birth  or  last 
as  habitation  but  a  vagrant  rogue.  .  .  .  And  if  they  be 
not  able  to  work,  they  must  be  relieved  there  [in 
the  parish  of  their  legal  residence].  .  .  . 
Page  226. 

When  officers  are  to  make  any  rates,  they  shall 
253 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

do  well  first  of  all  to  give  public  notice  in  the  church 
of  the  time  and  place,  when  and  where  they  intend 
to  make  the  same  (for  this  in  the  case  of  church- 
rates  is  necessary)  and  then  if  the  parishioners  will 
s  meet,  they  may;  if  not,  the  officers  and  those  that 
do  meet,  may  make  the  rate.  The  rates  must  not 
be  extended  beyond  the  parish,  neither  may  the 
overseers  rate  other  parishes  towards  the  rates  of 
the  poor  of  their  parish.  .  .  . 

10      Page  232. 

In  some  special  case  a  man  may  be  rated  beyond 
his  ability;  for  if  a  parishioner  for  his  own  gain  or 
otherwise,  shall  bring  into  the  parish  without  the 
consent  thereof,  a  stranger  who  is,  or  is  apparently 

is  like  to  be  burdensome  to  the  parish;  in  this  case 
the  parishioners  (because  they  have  no  other  remedy 
against  him)  may  rate  him  not  only  according  to  his 
ability  of  lands  and  goods,  but  according  to  the 
damage  he  bringeth,  or  is  like  to  bring  to  the  parish 

*o  by  his  folly.  .  .  . 
Page  281. 

[Ministers]  must  upon  every  Sunday  and  holiday, 
before  evening  prayer,  for  half  an  hour  or  more 
examine  and  instruct  the  youth  and  ignorant  per- 

»s  sons  of  their  parish  in  the  Ten  Commandments,  the 
Articles  of  the  Belief,  and  in  the  Lord's  Prayer;  and 
shall  diligently  hear,  instruct,  and  teach  them  the 
catechism,  set  forth  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 
. . .  And  every  man  is  bound  to  send  his  children  and 

254 


The  Parish  and  the  Town-Meeting 

servants,  and  they  are  bound  to  come,  being  sent, 
to  be  catechised.  .  .  .  The  Minister  is  every  Sunday 
to  set  down  the  names  of  all  that  are  christened, 
married,  or  buried,  the  week  before  within  his 
s  parish.  .  .  . 

Page  314. 

It  is  thought  also,  that  they  [Ministers]  ought  to 
have  (and  may  recover  where  they  may  have  not) 
a  competent  allowance  and  maintenance  out  of  the 
10  tithes  of  the  parish  wherein  they  serve.  .  .  . 

Page  326. 

They  [churchwardens]  are  to  order  the  seats  in  the 
church  and  to  appoint  every  man  and  woman  where 
they  shall  sit.  .  .  .  [They  may  make  rates]  .  .  .  [these] 
is  rates  are  not  to  be  made  for  the  raising  of  money, 
before  there  be  need.  .  .  . 
3.  Meriton:  A  Guide  for  Constables,  etc.  [1669.] 

Page  41. 

Those  officers  under  the  commissioners  of  excise 
«»  called  gaugers  are  to  have  the  constable  along  with 
them  when  they  enter  by  night  into  the  houses  of 
any    brewer,    innkeeper,   victualer,    etc.,    to    gauge 
their  coppers,  vats,  or  vessels,  or  to  take  an  account 
of  their  beer.  .  .  . 
»s      Page  63. 

The  constables  by  warrant  to  that  purpose,  under 
the  hand  and  seal  of  the  Lord  Lieutenant,  or  any 
three  or  more  of  the  Deputy  Lieutenants,  are  to  levy 
such  sums,  forfeitures,  penalties  and  payments,  as 

255 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

shall  be  charged  upon  any  person  or  persons  within 
their  several  constabularies,  for  the  furnishing  of 
arms,  horse,  or  foot,  or  payment  of  soldiers,  accord- 
ing to  the  Acts  for  the  Militia.  .  .  . 
s      Page  97. 

If  any  person  or  persons  shall  profanely  curse  or 
swear,  for  every  time  so  offending  they  [shall]  for- 
feit twelve  pence.  .  .  . 
Page  137. 

i»  These  officers  [churchwardens]  are  to  see  that 
the  church  and  churchyard  be  well  repaired  and  kept 
clean;  and  they  are  to  provide  Books  of  Common 
Prayer,  books  of  homilies,  a  parchment  book  for 
registering  christenings,  weddings,  and  burials  in, 

is  fonts,  pulpits,  tables,  chests  for  alms,  communion 
cups,  ornaments,  and  other  furniture;  and  a  chest 
with  three  locks  and  keys  for  putting  the  same  in; 
and  they  are  also  to  provide  bread  and  wine  for  the 
Sacrament  according  to  the  number  of  the  communi- 

*>  cants.  And  for  these  purposes  they  may  rate  the 
parish  for  money  to  do  it.  ...  [The  churchwardens] 
together  with  the  constables,  overseers  of  the  poor, 
and  surveyors  of  the  highways  of  every  parish  [in 
London]  respectively,  or  the  greater  number  of  them, 

as  giving  notice  unto,  or  calling  together  such  other  in- 
habitants of  their  respective  parishes  as  have  for- 
merly borne  the  like  offices,  they  .  .  .  are  to  make 
choice  of  and  shall  nominate  and  appoint  two  or 
more  able  persons,  that  are  tradesmen  of  their 

256 


The  Parish  and  the  Town-Meeting 

parish,  to  be  scavengers  for  the  streets,  lanes,  and 
other  open  passages  .  .  .  within  the  said  parish.  .  .  . 

Page  175. 

As  touching  settling  of  poor  people:    note  that 
s  the  justices  are  to  meddle  with  [to  eject]  none  but 
those  who  are  impotent,  and  such  as  are  like  to  be 
chargeable  to  the  place  where  they  are.  .  .  .  And  as 
to  this,  know  that  it  is  enacted  by  the  14.  Car.  2.  Ch. 
12.  that  if  any  stranger  come  into  a  parish  to  settle 
10  there  in  any  tenement,  under  £10  a  year,  and  he  re- 
fuse to  give  such  security  for  the  discharge  of  the 
parish  as  two  justices  shall  think  fit,  then  any  two 
justices  .  .  .  may  upon  complaint  to  them  made  by 
the   churchwardens   or   overseers,    within   40   days 
is  after  the  stranger  come  into  the  parish,  make  their 
warrant  to  send  him  to  the  place  where  he  was  last 
legally  settled  as  a  native,  householder,  sojourner, 
apprentice  or  servant  40  days  or  more.  .  .  . 
4.  The  Annals  of  St.  Helen's,  Bishopsgate,  London. 
•«      Page  100. 

At  a  vestry  kept  by  the  parishioners  of  St.  Helen's, 
upon  Sunday,  the  second  day  of  October,  A.D.  1558. 

Imprimis.  It  is  ordained  that  a  book  of  paper  be 
prepared  wherein  all  orders  concluded  at  any  vestry 
as  may  be  entered  and  put  in  writing. 

Item.  That  the  youngest  churchwarden  for  time 
being  shall  be  bound  to  enter  or  cause  to  be  en- 
tered the  said  orders  in  the  said  books  within  xiv 
days  after,  upon  pain  of  Vs. 

257 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

Item.  That  the  said  parishioners  shall  yearly  as- 
semble together  upon  the  Sunday  next  after  the 
feast  of  St.  Michael  the  Archangel,1  to  elect,  and 
choose  the  churchwardens  for  the  year  following, 
s  the  said  assembly  to  be  duly  called  by  the  church- 
wardens upon  the  pain  of  Vs. 

Item.  That   the  old   churchwardens   shall   make 

yearly  a  good  and  perfect  account  of  their  office 

before  the  said  parishioners  upon  Sunday  next  after 

10  the  feast  of  All  Saints,  upon  pain  to  forfeit  and  pay 

the  sum  [of]  35.  4^.  if  he  have  no  lawful  excuse. 

And  any  Sunday  after  as  much  until  they  have 

made  their  said  account.     The  said  sum  or  sums 

of  money  to  be  levied  to  the  use  of  the  said  parish 

is  church. 

Item.  That  if  any  parishioner  of  the  said  parish 
be  duly  warned  by  the  churchwardens  to  come  to 
any  vestry  to  be  kept  by  the  said  parishioners,  and 
do  make  default,  that  then  he  or  they,  having  no 
ao  good  lawful  excuse,  shall  forfeit  for  any  such  default 
the  sum  of  zd.  to  the  use  of  the  parish. 
Page  102. 

[May  4,  1561.]  Thomes  Odyll  and  George  Lodge 
are  elected  to  be  collectors  for  the  poor  people  for 
as  this  year  following. 

[Dec.  21,  1561.]  This  day  were  chosen  common 
officers  for  the  year  following,  viz. :  Thos.  Colshill  for 
the  Common  Council;  Richard  Kirke  and  Edmund 

1  /.  e.,  Michaelmas,  September  2Qth. 


The  Parish  and  the  Town-Meeting 

Stone  for  the  Wardmote  Quest ; l  John  Edwards, 
constable;  George  Gray,  scavenger;  Kylbye,  beadle. 
[Sexton,  parish  clerk,  churchwarden,  conductor  of 
choir,  clock-keeper  and  washer  of  the  church  linen 
3  chosen  by  previous  vestry.] 
Page  104. 

[March  20,  1565.]  Item.  It  is  agreed  that  the 
curate  shall  forthwith  make  a  perfect  book  of  all 
the  names  of  the  householders  of  this  parish  with 
10  their  wife,  children,  and  servant,  viz.,  such  as  be  of 
the  age  of  16  years  or  above,  and  the  same  book  or 
a  true  copy  thereof  to  be  delivered  to  the  said  Mr. 
Colshill  and  Mr.  Saunders  [churchwardens]. 

Page  1 08. 

is      1678.  Nov.   ii.   Mr.    Hesketh   chosen   Minister,* 
having  18  votes  out  of  21. 
Page  no. 

1689.  Dec.  6.  Mr.  Hesketh's  letter  being  read, 
it  was  agreed  for  a  subscription  and  every  one  to 
ao  subscribe  whereby  a  competent  sum  may  be  raised 
for  a  subsistence  for  him,  that  he  may  be  induced 
to  preach  constantly  and  remain  vicar  of  the  parish 
of  St.  Helen's. 

Page  in. 

as      1694.  May   24.   ...  That   the  [fire]  engine  be 
brought  into  the  church,  and  the  old  engine-house 

1  A  wardmote  quest  was  the  same  as  a  wardmote  inquest  or  a  ward- 
mote  court — ».  e.,  a  court  held  in  every  ward  in  the  city  of  London. 
'This  method  of  naming  the  clergyman  was  not  general. 

259 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

be  pulled  down  for  the  better  accommodation  in 
burying  the  dead. 
Page  122. 

1702.  April  7.     Mr.    Aylward,    elected    church- 
s  warden,  excused  [from]  all  offices  on  paying  the  fine 
of  £30,  the  question  having  been  put  whether  it 
should  be  £25  or  £30. 

April  10.  Mr.  Crispe  elected;  excused  on  the  same 
conditions. 
io      Page  129. 

1708.  May  5.  ...  [Ordered]  that  the  churchwar- 
dens do  enquire  of  the  town  clerk  concerning  agree- 
ment made  by  the  proprietors  in  the  Thames  water 
for  their  supplying  fire-cocks  with  their  water,  for 
is  public  benefit,  gratis. 

Sept.  14.  The  great  [fire]  engine  ordered  to  be  re- 
paired. 
Page  143- 

1732.  March  io.  A  request  being  made  by  Mr. 
20  Nath.  Gould,  a  parishioner,  that  this  vestry  would 
grant  to  him  and  his  family  the  liberty  of  sitting  in 
the  uppermost  pew  on  the  left  hand  of  the  middle 
aisle  next  the  communion  table :  it  was  resolved  that 
permission  be  granted  during  the  pleasure  of  the  par- 
as ish,  but  when  the  said  N.  Gould  or  his  family  shall  not 
be  at  church,  then  the  said  pew  shall  be  filled  at  the 
discretion  of  the  churchwardens  for  the  time  being. 
Page.  149. 

1739.  Feb.  9.  A  motion  being  made  whether  the 
260 


The  Parish  and  the  Town-Meeting 

women  had  a  right  to  vote  for  a  parish  clerk  or  not, 
and  debates  arising  thereon,  this  vestry  was  dis- 
solved. 

Nichols,  Illustration. 

5.  A.  Churchwardens'  Accounts  of  St.  Margaret's, 
s  Westminster. 

Page  ii. 

1541.  Item,  given,  by  the  consent  of  the  Worship- 

fuls  of  the  parish,  of  the  church-money,  towards  the 

"  repairing  of  the  highway  towards  the  Eye-cross.  .  .  . 

£      s.      d. 
300 
Page  13. 

1548.  Also  paid  to  Philip  Lentall,  for  making  clean 
is  of  XI  pair  of  harnesses  [armor],  IX  daggers,  and 
VIII  bills,  prices  every  harness  is.  4^. 

o     14       o  [sic] 

Also  paid  to  XI  men  for  wearing  of  the  same  har- 
nesses at  the  muster-day.  .  .  . 

20  O56 

Page  15. 

1559.     Item,  paid  for  a  book  of  the  names  of  all 
such  persons  as  were  buried  within  this  parish,  from 
Midsummer-day,  A.D.  1558,   unto   Midsummer-day 
35  in  the  year  1559,  delivered  to  the  visitors.1 

020 

1  This  referred  to  the  representatives  of  the  bishop,  who  made 
visits  at  stated  times  to  inspect  the  parish  and  try  persons  guilty 
of  offences  against  the  canon  law. 

261 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

Page  1 8. 

1567.  Item,  paid  for  a  certificate  made  of  all  the 
strangers  within  the  parish.  006 

Page  19. 

5  1572.  Item,  for  a  new  register  book,  for  to  write  in 
the  names  of  every  burial,  christening,  and  marriage, 
that  is  in  the  parish.  050 

Page  19. 

1581.  Item,  paid  for  a  book  of  the  Abridgment  of 
«o  Statutes,  to  remain  in  the  church. 

090 
Page  22. 

1589.  And  the  churchwardens  aforesaid  have  de- 
livered the  sum  of  forty  pounds  in  money,  which 
is  was  the  money  given  by  Mr.  Feckenam,  late  Abbot 
of  Westminster,  to  the  use  of  the  poor  of  the  same 
parish  to  buy  wood;    which  sum  the  said  church- 
wardens have  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the  new 
churchwardens  now  appointed, 
ao  40      o      o 

Page  23. 

1592.  Item,  paid  to  the  dog-killer  for  killing  dogs 
the  first  time  of  infection.  o  16  o 

Item,  paid  more  to  the  dog-killer  for  killing  more 
*s  dogs.  o     10     10 

Page  24. 

1595.  Item,  paid  for  bread,  drink,  cheese,  fish, 
cream,  and  other  victuals,  when  the  Worshipful  of 
the  parish,  and  very  many  others  of  the  poorest  sort, 

262 


The  Parish  and  the  Town-Meeting 

went  the  perambulation1  to  Kensington,  in  this  hard 
and  dear  time  of  all  things,  as  may  appear  by  a  bill 
of  particulars.  7  10  o 

Page  27. 

s      1 602 .  Item,  paid  to  two  surgeons,  to  search  a  corpse 
suspected  to  be  of  the  plague.          068 
Page  31. 

1616.  Item,  [received]  of  Sir  Richard  Wigmore, 
Knight,  for  his  part  of  a  pew.  o     13       4 

1°      Page  38. 

1628.  Item,  [received]  of  divers  persons,  the  parish- 
ioners of  this  parish,  for  their  fines  for  swearing,  and 
being  drunk,  and  for  breach  of  the  Sabbath,  and 
being  otherwise  presented  according  to  the  penal 
is  laws,  as  by  a  particular  of  their  names  and  several 
fines  appeareth,  which  hath  been  employed  to  the 
use  of  the  hospital  children.  ...  3  9  4 

Page  43. 

1634.  Item,  for  drawing  and  writing  out  the  names 
«°  of  the  inhabitants  to  make  the  assessment  of  the 
ship-money.  ...  134 

Page  49. 

'  1642.  Item,  received  out  of  the  black  chest  at 
several  times  for  the  building  of  the  new  pest-houses. 

as  200          O          O 

1  By  a  "perambulation"  was  meant  the  walking  around  a  parish 

once  a  year  to  define  its  boundaries.     In  Catholic  times  it  took  the 

form  of  a  semi-religious  procession  of  all  the  inhabitants,  but  that 

was  later  forbidden  and  the  duty  was  at  length  turned  over  to  a  few 

30  men  appointed  for  that  purpose. 

263 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

Item,  receipts  of  moneys  collected  towards  the  pay- 
ment for  the  building  of  the  courts  of  guard,  making 
posts  and  chains,  and  other  works  for  the  safety  of 
this  town,  sum:  50  o  o 

s      Page  52. 

1645.  Item,  for  seven  lanterns  to  hang  in  the 
streets.  o  18  o 

Page  72. 

1671.  Item,  [received]  of  Dr.  Busby,  to  pay  Mrs. 
10  Hooper,  for  teaching  the  parish  children  three  weeks 
at  25.  6d.  the  week.  076 

Page  76. 

1686.  Item,  to  Mary  Booth,  for  keeping  8  children 
8  weeks  at  Clerkenwell,  at  35.  per  week. 
is  9     12       o 

B.  Churchwardens'  accounts  of  Wigtoft,  a  village 
near  Boston,  Lincolnshire. 

Page  83. 

1487.  Item,  paid  for  hooks  and  hengless  [hinges] 
ao  unto  the  school-house  door,   with  a  key,   and  for 
nails  to  the  same  door.     [Note  by  editor :  ' '  It  appears 
a  school  was  kept  in  the  church  at  that  time,  as  is 
the  case  at  this  day" — 1797.] 
6.  Boston   Town  Records. 
25      Page  2. 

[Oct.  6,  1634.]  At  a  general  meeting  upon  public 
notice  given  the  5th  day  of  the  last  week,  it  was 
ordered  and  agreed  as  followeth:  imprimis,  Rich. 
Bellingham,  Esq.,  and  J.  Cogan,  merchant,  were 

264 


The  Parish  and  the  Town-Meeting 

chosen  in  the  place  of  Giles  Firmin,  deceased,  and 
Robt.  Harding,  now  in  Virginia,  to  make  up  the  10 
to  manage  the  affairs  of  the  town.     [Selectmen.] 
Item:   Jo.  Coggeshall,  [and  four  others],  together 

s  with  Win.   Cheeseborrowe,   the  constable,  are  de- 
puted to  make  a  rate  for  the  levying  of  £40  assessed 
upon  the  town  as  the  first  payment  of  a  greater  sum 
by  order  of  the  last  General  Court.1 
Page  3. 

10  [Dec.  18,  1634.  Town  meeting.]  Imprimis,  it  is 
agreed  that  Mr.  Winthrop  [and  six  others]  shall  have 
power  to  divide  and  dispose  of  all  such  lands  belong- 
ing to  the  town  (as  are  not  yet  in  the  lawful  pos- 
session of  any  particular  persons)  to  the  inhabitants 

is  of  the  town  according  to  the  orders  of  the  Court, 
leaving  such  portions  in  common  for  the  use  of 
new-comers,  and  the  further  benefit  of  the  town, 
as  in  their  best  discretions  they  shall  think  fit:  the 
islands  hired  by  the  town  to  be  also  included  in 

20  this  order. 
Page  4. 

[March  23,  1635.  Town  meeting.]  Imprimis: 
it  is  agreed,  by  general  consent,  that  the  overseers 
of  the  fences  of  the  several  fields  shall  see  to  the 

25  making  of  such  stiles  and  gates  as  may  be  needful 
for  every  field  .  .  .  the  stiles  and  gates  for  common 
highways  to  be  made  out  of  public  charge,  forth  of 
the  constables'  hand.  .  .  . 

1  The  General  Court  was  the  Colonial  Legislature. 
265 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

Page  5. 

[April  13,  1635.     Town-meeting.]  .  .  .  Likewise  it 

was  then  generally  agreed  upon,  that  our  brother, 

Philemon  Pormont,   shall  be  intreated  to  become 

s  school-master,   for  the  teaching  and  nurturing  of 

children  with  us. 

Page  5. 

[Nov.  30,  1635.     Town  meeting.]     Imprimis:    It 
is  agreed  that  no  further  allotments  shall  be  granted 
10  unto  any  new-comers,  but  such  as  may  be  likely  to 
be  received  members  of  the  Congregation. 

Item:   That  none  shall  sell  their  houses  or  allot- 
ments to  any  new-comers,  but  with  the  consent  and 
allowance  of  those  that  are  appointed  allotters. 
is       Item :   That  none  of  the  members  of  this  congrega- 
tion or  inhabitants  among  us  shall  sue  one  another 
at  the  law  before  that  Mr.  Henry  Vane  and  the  two 
elders,  Mr.  Thomas  Oliver  and  Thomas   Leveritt, 
have  had  the  hearing  and  deciding  of  the  cause  if 
ao  they  can. 

Pages  7,  8. 

[Jan.  23,  1636.     Town  meeting.]     Imprimis:    At 
this  meeting,  Thomas  Marshall,  is  by  general  con- 
sent, chosen  for  the  keeping  of  a  ferry  from  the  mill 
as  point  unto  Charl[es]town. 

Item:  It  was  likewise  agreed  that  for  the  raising 
of  a  new  work  of  fortification  upon  the  Forthill, 
about  that  which  is  there  already  begun,  the  whole 
town  would  bestow  fourteen  days  work  by  equal 

266 


The  Parish  and  the  Town-Meeting 

proportion.  .  .  .  [Commissioners  for  the  work  ap- 
pointed, to  apportion  money  and  work  from  each.] 
Page  8. 

[Feb.  27,  1636.]  At  a  meeting  upon  private  warn- 
s  ing  it  was  agreed  that  there  shall  be  a  watch  taken 
up  and  gone  around  with  from  the  ist  of  2d  month 
next,   for  the   summertime,   from  sunset  an  hour 
after  the  beating  of  the  drum,  upon  penalty  for 
every  one  wanting  therein  i2d.  for  every  night. 
1°      Page  10. 

[May   9,    1636.     Meeting   of   the   Selectmen.]  It 
was  ordered  that  no  townsmen  shall  entertain  any 
strangers  into  their  houses  for  above  14  days,  with- 
out leave  from  those  that  are  appointed  to  order 
is  the  town's  businesses. 

Item:    It  is  ordered  that  none  shall  keep  any 
victualing  houses  for  the  selling  of  wine,  beer,  cakes 
or  any  other  kind  of  victuals  within  this  town,  but 
only  such  as  are  allowed  thereunto  as  innkeepers, 
ao      Page  10. 

[May  13,  1636.    Town  meeting.]  At  this  assembly 

Mr.  William  Hutchinson,  Mr.  John  Coggeshall,  and 

Mr.   William  Brenton  are  chosen  for  deputies  or 

committees  for   the   service  of   this  next   General 

as  Court. 

Page  10. 

[June  6,  1636.     Selectmen.]  Item:    We  find  that 
Richard  Fairbank  hath  sold  unto  two  strangers  the 
two  houses  in  Sudbury  end  that  were  William  Bal- 
18  267 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

stone's,  contrary  to  a  former  order,  and  therefore 
the  sale  to  be  void,  and  the  said  Richard  Fairbank 
to  forfeit  for  his  breaking  thereof,  xls. 
Page  ii. 

s      [Aug.  15,  1636.     Selectmen.]     It  was  ordered  that 
John  Sampford  and  William  Hudson  shall  be  water 
baylies,  to  see  that  no  annoying  things,  ...  be  left 
or  laid  about  the  seashore.  .  .  . 
Page  ii. 

10  [Sept.  16,  1636.  Town  meeting.]  At  this  assem- 
bly Mr.  Thomas  Oliver  [and  nine  others]  are,  with 
general  consent,  chosen  [as  Selectmen]  for  these  next 
six  months  to  oversee  and  set  order  for  all  allot- 
ments belonging  to  this  town,  and  for  all  other 

is  occasions  and  businesses  of  the  same  (excepting  mat- 
ters of  election  for  the  General  Court)  from  time  to 
time,  to  be  agreed  upon  and  ordered  by  them  or  the 
greater  part  of  them. 
Page  12. 

ao  [Oct.  4,  1636.  Selectmen.]  At  a  meeting  ...  it 
was  agreed  and  ordered  that  from  this  day  there 
shall  no  house  at  all  be  built  in  this  town  near  unto 
any  of  the  streets  or  lanes  therein,  but  with  the  advice 
and  consent  of  the  overseers  of  the  town's  occa- 

25  sions.  .  .  . 
Page  13. 

[Nov.  15,  1636.  Selectmen.]  .  . .  Also  at  this  meet- 
ing Richard  Fairbank  is  chosen  for  our  hog  reeve, 
according  to  order  of  Court. 

268 


The  Parish  and  the  Town-Meeting 

Page  1 8. 

[May  13,  1637.     Selectmen.] . . .  Item:  It  is  agreed 
that  Richard  Fairbank  shall  be  the  fold-keeper  for 
the  residue  of  this  our  half  year  time. 
s      Page  20. 

[Oct.    1 6,    1637.     Town    meeting.]  [Eleven    men 
chosen  as  selectmen.]     Also  at  this  meeting  Mr. 
Ralph  Hudson  and  Edward  Bendall  are  chosen  con- 
stables of  this  town  for  this  next  year. 
10      Page  35. 

[Nov.  2,  1638.     Selectmen.]  .  .  .  Leave  is  granted 
to  Richard  Rawlings,  a  plasterer,  to  buy  Peter  John- 
son's, the  Dutchman's  house,  and  to  become  an  in- 
habitant of  this  town, 
is      Page  36. 

[Dec.   10,    1638.     Selectmen.]    It  is  agreed  that 
Arthur   Perry    shall   have   yearly   allowed   for   bis 
drumming  to  the  Company  upon  all  occasions,  the 
sum  of  £2,  to  be  pa^.d  by  the  town. 
20      Page  39. 

[March  25,  1639.]  .  .  .  Also  it  is  agreed  that  our 
brother  Robert  Walker  shall  be  the  cow-keep[er]  for 
this  year.  .  .  . 

Page  44. 

as  [Dec.  1 6,  1639.  Town  meeting.]  At  this  meeting 
the  orders  of  the  last  General  Court  were  openly 
read. 

Page  55. 

[Sept.  28,  1640.  Town  meeting.]  [Deputies,  to 
•  260 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

the  General  Court,  Selectmen  and  Surveyors  of  the 
Highways  were  elected]  .  .  .  and  for  town-crier,  Wil- 
liam Courser. 

Page  56. 

s  [Oct.  26,  1640.  Selectmen.]  There  is  at  this 
meeting  a  bridge  appointed  to  be  made  at  Muddy 
River;  Mr.  Coleburne,  our  brother  Eliott,  and  our 
brother  Peter  Oliver  are  appointed  to  see  the  same 
done.  .  .  .  Evan  Thomas  is  to  be  taken  into  con- 
10  sideration  for  becoming  a  townsman  with  us. 

Page  58. 

[Jan.  25,  1641.  Selectmen.]  .  .  .  Evan  Thomas 
is  accepted  for  a  townsman  at  this  meeting. 

Page  62. 

is  [July  26,  1641.  Selectmen.]  .  .  .  Our  brother  John 
Oliver  is  chosen  treasurer  for  the  town,  and  to  keep 
the  town's  book.  [Recorder.] 

Page  65. 

[Jan.    10,    1642.     Town  meeting.]     At  a  general 
»o  town  meeting  upon  warning  from  house  to  house. 

It's  ordered  that  Deer-Island  shall  be  improved 
for  the  maintenance  of  a  free  school  for  the  town; 
and  such  other  occasions  as  the  Townsmen  [Select- 
men] for  the  time  being  shall  think  meet,  the  said 
•s  school  being  sufficiently  provided  for. 

It's  ordered  that  there  shall  be  no  more  lands 
granted  unto  any  inhabitants  that  shall  hereafter 
be  admitted  into  the  town,  unless  it  be  at  a  general 
town  meeting. 

270 


The  Parish  and  the  Town-Meeting 

It's  ordered  that  the  9  men  [Selectmen]  shall,  ac- 
cording to  the  present  need  of  the  town,  appoint  the 
sum  and  the  particular  assessments  of  a  town  rate. 

Page  71. 

s  [Dec.  26,  1642.  Selectmen.]  It's  ordered  that 
parents  shall  give  in  a  note  of  the  names  of  their 
children,  and  the  time  of  their  birth,  unto  the  clerk 
of  the  writs  (both  of  such  as  have  been  born  in 
this  town,  and  shall  be  born),  within  one  week 
10  after  their  birth,  under  the  penalty  of  6  pence  for 
every  defect,  and  he  that  hath  the  care  of  the  bury- 
ing-place,  shall  give  notice  unto  the  said  clerk,  of 
the  names  of  such  as  are  buried,  and  that  the  con- 
stable shall  signify  this  order  unto  every  family  in 
is  the  town. 

Page  80. 

[July  29,  1644.     Selectmen.] .  .  .  Zache  Bozworth  is 
appointed  poundkeeper.  .  .  .  Charity  White  is  al- 
lowed 26s.  for  thirteen  weeks'  keeping  of  John  Berry, 
30  to  be  paid  by  the  constables. 

Page  82. 

[Dec.  2,  1644.     Selectmen.]  It's  ordered  that  the 
constables  shall  pay  unto  Deacon  Eliott  for  the  use 
of  Mr.  Woodbridge  eight  pounds  due  to  him  for 
95  keeping  the  school  the  last  year. 

Page  83. 

[Jan.  27,  1645.  Town  meeting.]  Valentine  Hill, 
deacon,  together  with  one  of  the  present  constables, 
are  appointed  auditors  of  Anthony  Stodder,  late 

271 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

Howchin  is  chosen  sealer  of  the  weights  and  meas- 
ures this  year  till  another  be  chosen. 
Page  1 06. 
[Aug.  u,  1651.     Town  meeting.]  .  .  .  Also  it  was 

s  ordered  that  the  Selectmen  shall  take  care  from  time 
to  time  for  the  prevention  of  danger  of  fire  by  de- 
fective chimneys,  and  upon  complaints  to  view 
them,  and  to  order  their  repair  upon  penalty  if  not 
repaired. 

to      Page  108. 

[Feb.  23,  1652.  Selectmen.]  .  .  .  John  Vyall  hath 
liberty  to  keep  a  house  of  common  entertainment 
if  the  County  Court  consent,  provided  he  keep  it 
near  the  new  meeting-house  or  northward  of  it. 

is      Pages  113,  114. 

[March  14,  1653.  Town  meeting.]  [Usual  officers 
elected,  also.]  .  .  .  For  packer  of  flesh  and  fish:  Sarjt. 
John  Barrell.  ...  It  is  ordered  that  there  shall  be  a 
ladder  or  ladders  to  every  house  within  this  town 

*>  that  shall  reach  to  the  ridge  of  the  house  [also  a  pole, 
12  feet  long,  with  a  "swob"  on  the  end  of  it  which 
every  householder  shall  provide  for  his  house  by 
the  last  day  of  the  third  month  next,  on  penalty  of 
six  shillings,  eight  pence.]  ...  It  is  ordered  that  the 

*s  Selectmen  shall  forthwith  provide  six  good  and  long 
ladders  for  the  town's  use,  which  shall  hang  at  the 
outside  of  the  meeting-house,  there  to  be  ready  in 
case  of  fire,  these  ladders  to  be  branded  with  the 
town  mark. 

274 


The  Parish  and  the  Town-Meeting 

Pages  121,  122. 

[Jan.  29,  1655.    Selectmen.]  The  treasurer  is  to 

pay  to  [these]  several  persons  [their  names  following] 

the  sum  of  seventeen  pounds,  fifteen  shillings,  for 

s  the  billeting  of  32  soldiers,  being  impressed  for  the 

expedition  against  Ninicraft. 

Pages  122,  123. 

[March   12,   1655.     Town  meeting.]     [The  usual 
officers  elected]   .   .   .  for  corders  of  wood:   Thos. 
i»  Leader  [and  three  others]. 

Page  127. 

[Nov.  27,  1655.     Selectmen.]  Robert  Wyatt  and 
Wm.  Lane  are  appointed  to  sweep  chimneys  and  to 
cry  about  streets  that  they  may  be  known. 
is      Page  129. 

[1656.     Town  meeting.]  .  .  .  [Chosen  as]  gaugers 
of  cask,  Wm.  Dinsdale,  John  Cunny. 

Page  129. 

[March  14,  1656.     Town  meeting.]  It  is  ordered 

*>  that  the  Selectmen  shall  have  liberty  to  lay  out  a 

piece  of  ground  out  of  the  town's  land,  which  they 

give  to  the  building  of  a  house  for  instruction  of  the 

youth  of  the  town. 

Page  131. 

•s  [July  28,  1656.  Selectmen.]  ...  If  any  young 
person  or  others  be  found  without  either  meet- 
ing-house, idling  or  playing  during  the  time  of 
public  exercise  on  the  Lord's  day,  it  is  ordered 
that  the  constables  or  others  appointed  for  that 

275 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

Howchin  is  chosen  sealer  of  the  weights  and  meas- 
ures this  year  till  another  be  chosen. 
Page  1 06. 
[Aug.  u,  1651.     Town  meeting.]  .  .  .  Also  it  was 

s  ordered  that  the  Selectmen  shall  take  care  from  time 
to  time  for  the  prevention  of  danger  of  fire  by  de- 
fective chimneys,  and  upon  complaints  to  view 
them,  and  to  order  their  repair  upon  penalty  if  not 
repaired. 

10      Page  108. 

[Feb.  23,  1652.  Selectmen.]  .  .  .  John  Vyall  hath 
liberty  to  keep  a  house  of  common  entertainment 
if  the  County  Court  consent,  provided  he  keep  it 
near  the  new  meeting-house  or  northward  of  it. 

*s      Pages  113,  114. 

[March  14,  1653.  Town  meeting.]  [Usual  officers 
elected,  also.]  .  .  .  For  packer  of  flesh  and  fish:  Sarjt. 
John  Barrell.  ...  It  is  ordered  that  there  shall  be  a 
ladder  or  ladders  to  every  house  within  this  town 

*>  that  shall  reach  to  the  ridge  of  the  house  [also  a  pole, 
12  feet  long,  with  a  "swob"  on  the  end  of  it  which 
every  householder  shall  provide  for  his  house  by 
the  last  day  of  the  third  month  next,  on  penalty  of 
six  shillings,  eight  pence.]  ...  It  is  ordered  that  the 

»s  Selectmen  shall  forthwith  provide  six  good  and  long 
ladders  for  the  town's  use,  which  shall  hang  at  the 
outside  of  the  meeting-house,  there  to  be  ready  in 
case  of  fire,  these  ladders  to  be  branded  with  the 
town  mark. 

274 


The  Parish  and  the  Town-Meeting 

Pages  121,  122. 

[Jan.  29,  1655.     Selectmen.]  The  treasurer  is  to 

pay  to  [these]  several  persons  [their  names  following] 

the  sum  of  seventeen  pounds,  fifteen  shillings,  for 

s  the  billeting  of  32  soldiers,  being  impressed  for  the 

expedition  against  Ninicraft. 

Pages  122,  123. 

[March   12,   1655.     Town  meeting.]     [The  usual 
officers  elected]   .   .   .   for  corders  of  wood:   Thos. 
i°  Leader  [and  three  others]. 

Page  127. 

[Nov.  27,  1655.     Selectmen.]  Robert  Wyatt  and 
Wm.  Lane  are  appointed  to  sweep  chimneys  and  to 
cry  about  streets  that  they  may  be  known. 
is      Page  129. 

[1656.     Town  meeting.]  .  .  .  [Chosen  as]  gaugers 
of  cask,  Wm.  Dinsdale,  John  Cunny. 

Page  129. 

[March  14,  1656.     Town  meeting.]  It  is  ordered 

*>  that  the  Selectmen  shall  have  liberty  to  lay  out  a 

piece  of  ground  out  of  the  town's  land,  which  they 

give  to  the  building  of  a  house  for  instruction  of  the 

youth  of  the  town. 

Page  131. 

*s  [July  28,  1656.  Selectmen.]  ...  If  any  young 
person  or  others  be  found  without  either  meet- 
ing-house, idling  or  playing  during  the  time  of 
public  exercise  on  the  Lord's  day,  it  is  ordered 
that  the  constables  or  others  appointed  for  that 

275 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

end  shall  take  hold  of  them  and  bring  them  before 
authority. 

Pages  136,  137. 

[April  27,  1657.     Selectmen.]     Richard  Way  ad- 

s  mitted  into  the  Town  provided  that  Aaron  Way  do 

become  bound  in  the  sum  of  twenty  pounds  sterling 

to  free  the  town  from  any  charge  that  may  accrue 

to  the  town  by  the  said  Richard  or  his  family. 

I,  Aaron  Way,  do  hereby  engage  myself,  my  heirs, 
10  executors,  etc.,  unto  the  Selectmen  of  the  town  of 
Boston  and  their  successors  in  the  sum  of  twenty 
pounds  sterling  in  behalf  of  my  brother,  Richard 
Way,  and  his  family,  that  they  shall  not  be  charge- 
able to  the  town,  and  hereunto  set  my  hand. 
is  Aaron    X    Way. 

his  mark. 
Page  140. 

[Nov.   30,   1657.     Selectmen.]  It  is  or'dered  that 
Philip  Curtis  be  paid  twenty  shillings  for  killing  a 
ao  wolf  at  Muddy  River  the  last  winter.1 
Page  142. 

[Jan.    25,    1658.     Selectmen.]  It   is   ordered   that 
measures  of  brass  be  provided  as  standards  for  the 
town  and  reserved  for  that  use. 
as      Page  148. 

[Nov.    29,     1658.      Selectmen.]    Whereas  fifteen 

1  Regular  bounties  were  provided  by  law  at  Plymouth  for  killing 
wild  beasts,  as  was  done  in  earlier  times  in  England  for  the  "de- 
struction of  noisome  fowl  or  vermin." 

276 


The  Parish  and  the  Town-Meeting 

pounds  were  given  by  Mr.  Paddy  as  a  legacy  to  the 
poor  of  the  town,  it  is  ordered  that  the  town  treas- 
urer dispose  of  the  same  according  to  order. 

Page  151. 

s  [March  28,  1659.  Selectmen.]  John  Dawes  is 
ordered  to  oversee  the  youth  at  the  new  meeting- 
house, that  they  behave  themselves  reverently  in 
the  time  of  divine  worship,  and  to  act  according  to 
his  instructions  herein. 
10  7.  Records  of  Boston  Selectmen. 

Page  5. 

[May  22,    1701.]     Ordered  that  thirty  hundred- 
weight of  bullets  and  five  thousand  of  flints  be  forth- 
with provided  for  a  town  stock,  and  Mr.  Gyles  Dyer, 
is  Mr.  Richard  Draper,  and  Mr.  Robert  Gibbs  are  ap- 
pointed to  take  care  to  procure  the  same. 

Page  7. 

[July  28th.]  Ordered  that  a  motion  be  made  to  the 
Quarter  Sessions  to  remove  the  incroachment  for- 
ao  merely  made  by  Col.  Page  on  the  highway  nigh  the 
town  house. 

Page  1 8. 

[March  16,  1702.]  At  a  meeting  of  the  justices 
of  the  peace  and  Selectmen  within  the  town  of 
as  Boston  ...  it  was  then  by  the  said  justices  and 
Selectmen  agreed  that  the  bake-house  belonging 
to  the  Rev.  Mr.  James  Allen  .  .  .  and  the  granary 
belonging  to  Mr.  Arthur  Mason  ...  be  the  houses 
at  present  improved  for  the  lodging  of  gunpowder 

277 


uv 

in,  until 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

itil  other  and  better  provision  be  made  for  the 
same. 
Page  23. 

[June  9,  1702.]  At  a  meeting  of  the  Selectmen  with 
s  the  overseers  of  the  poor  and  the  town  treasurer: 
it  is  mutually  agreed  unto,  that  the  treasurer  do 
pay  out  the  ninety  pounds  in  money  now  in  hand, 
for  the  use  of  the  poor  and  as  the  overseers  of  the 
poor  shall  order.     The  overseers  of  the  poor  having 
i*  agreed  and  resolved  not  to  send  the  poor  to  the 
treasurer  as  formerly. 
Page  193. 

[Sept.  15,  1713.     Selectmen.]  Ordered  that  a  cage 
be  made  and  placed  at  the  upper  end  of  Queen 
is  Street,  and  the  whipping-post  and  stock  be  placed 
there  also. 

8.  Winthrop's  Journal. 
I,  page  1 1 6. 

[Dec.,  1633.]   After  much  deliberation  and  seri- 
*•  ous  advice,  the  Lord  directed  the  teacher,  Mr.  Cot- 
ton,  to  make  it  clear  by  the  scripture  that  the 
minister's  maintenance,  as  well  as  all  other  charges 
of  the  church,  should  be  defrayed  out  of  a  stock,  or 
treasury,  which  was  to  be  raised  out  of  the  weekly 
*s  contribution;   which  accordingly  was  agreed  upon. 


Page  144. 

[1634.]  One  Abigail  Gifford,  widow,  being  kept  at 
378 


The  Parish  and  the  Town-Meeting 

the  charge  of  the  parish  of  Wilsden  in  Middlesex, 
near  London,  was  sent  by  Mr.  Ball's  ship  into  this 
country,  and  being  found  to  be  sometimes  distracted, 
and  a  very  burdensome  woman,  the  governor  and 
s  assistants  returned  her  back,  by  warrant  18,  to  the 
same  parish,  in  the  ship  Rebecca. 
9.  The  Records  of  the  Town  of  Cambridge. 
Page  354. 

[Jan.  19,  1663.]  The  committee  for  ordering  the 
10  seating  of  people  in  the  meeting-house  being  met 
at  the  ordinary  [inn]: 

Appointed:  Bro.  Rich.  Jackson's  wife  to  sit  there 
where  sister  Kempster  was  wont  to  sit.  Mrs.  Up- 
ham,  with  her  mother.  Ester  Sparhauke,  in  the 
is  place  where  Mrs.  Upham  is  removed  from.  .  .  .  John 
Stedman,  on  the  fore  gallery  on  the  south  side.  .  .  . 
Mary  Lemmon,  where  old  sister  Jackson  was  wont 
to  sit  ...  [etc.]. 

Page  155. 

20      [Feb.  13,  1665.     Selectmen.]  .  .  .  Thomas  Gleison 
being  sent  for  to  appear  before  the  Selectmen  was 
warned  to  provide  himself,  the  townsmen  not  seeing 
meet  to  allow  of  him  as  an  inhabitant  in  this  town. 
[Note  by  clerk,  in  margin:    "He  had  been  in  the 
«s  town  about  a  week."] 
Page  175. 

[Feb.  8,  1669.  Selectmen.]  .  .  .  for  catechising  the 
youth  of  this  town:  Elder  Champney,  Mr.  Oakes 
are  appointed  for  those  families  on  the  south  side 

279 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

the  bridge.  [Fifteen  others  appointed  for  various 
sections  of  the  town.] 

Page  226. 

[Feb.  14,  1676.  Selectmen.]  William  Manning 
s  [and  three  others]  are  appointed  by  the  Selectmen 
to  have  inspection  into  families  that  there  be  no 
bye-drinking  nor  any  misdemeanor  whereby  sin  is 
committed  and  persons  [are]  from  their  houses 
unseasonably. 


PROBLEM  VII 

VII. — Beginning   of  Peace   Negotiations   with 
America 


Beginning  of   Peace   Negotiations 
with  America 

I.    THE    HISTORICAL    SETTING    OF    THE   PROBLEM 

THE  Seven  Years'  War  was  a  long  reach  forward  in 
the  history  of  English  expansion.  If  English  poli- 
ticians and  diplomats  failed  to  hold  for  England  all  the 
winnings  of  her  warriors,  the  Peace  of  Paris,  nevertheless, 
gave  the  British  Empire  a  secure  place  in  the  sun.  She 
received  nearly  all  the  French  possessions  in  America 
except  Louisiana  (including  the  city  of  New  Orleans  and 
the  isle  of  Orleans  upon  which  it  stands),  she  gained 
Florida  from  Spain,  she  got  some  of  the  French  islands 
in  the  West  Indies,  and  she  established  her  position  more 
firmly  in  India.  It  was  Turgot,  the  French  statesman, 
who  then  prophesied  that  the  French  loss  of  Canada  would 
eventually  cost  England  the  loss  of  her  American  colo- 
nies. Whatever  partial  truth  there  was  in  this,  from 
the  Peace  of  Paris  on,  tendencies  were  at  work  which 
were  to  drive  the  thirteen  colonies  out  of  the  English 
fold.  In  1775  the  disaffection  came  to  a  head  and  in  the 
next  year  the  Declaration  of  Independence  committed  the 
colonies  to  the  policy  of  complete  separation.  George 
III.,  who  with  the  help  of  Lord  North  was  attempting  in 
England  to  substitute  for  the  system  of  cabinet  and  party 
government  his  personal  rule  through  ministers,  strove  na 
19  283 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

less  eagerly  in  the  New  World  to  coerce  the  colonies  into 
submission  to  royal  regulation  and  taxation.  The  narrow 
mind  of  the  sovereign,  intent  upon  exercising  those 
prerogatives  of  the  crown  which  the  first  two  Georges 
had  lost,  was  by  instinct  impatient  of  colonial  aspiration 
and  intolerant  of  colonial  insolence.  It  was  George  III. 
who  forced  the  opposition  in  Parliament  to  speak  for 
the  Americans.  The  Whigs  would  have  been  utterly 
undiscerning  had  they  not  felt  their  community  of  in- 
terest with  the  colonists.  Not  even  the  outbreak  and 
progress  of  the  war  stopped  their  voices.  But  in  their 
sympathy  for  the  Americans  they  were  by  no  means 
united.  The  followers  of  Chatham,  among  whom,  after 
their  leader's  death,  Shelburne  was  most  prominently 
concerned  in  American  policies,  never  grew  weary  of 
asserting  that  America  had  been  goaded  into  the  war. 
She  could,  they  said,  be  won  back  by  proper  concessions. 
Another  faction,  of  which  Rockingham  was  the  leader 
and  Charles  Fox  the  daring  spokesman,  declared  that 
America  deserved  and  would  ultimately  win  independ- 
ence. Meantime,  in  1778,  France,  eager  to  avenge  the 
Seven  Years'  War  and  willing  to  see  England  lose  her  best 
possession,  had  allied  herself  with  the  United  States, 
each  nation  promising  not  to  make  peace  without  the 
consent  of  the  other,  and  not  before  the  acknowledgment 
of  American  independence.  Spain  soon  followed  France 
into  the  war,  though  not  as  an  ally  of  the  United  States, 
and  Holland  was  drawn  in  through  English  resentment 
of  her  policy  of  supplying  naval  and  military  stores  to 
the  enemies  of  England. 

The  news  of  Cornwallis's  surrender  at  Yorktown  put 
an  end  to  George  III.'s  plans  for  subduing  the  revolted 
colonies,  and  with  the  failure  of  those  plans  all  his  efforts 
to  turn  back  the  clock  in  England  were  without  effect. 

284 


Beginning  of  Peace  Negotiations 

The  ejaculation  attributed  to  Lord  North,  "O  God!  it's 
all  over!"  was  no  over-statement.  The  factions  of  the 
Whig  party  came  together,  and  the  Commons  by  a  ma- 
jority of  nineteen  resolved  to  cease  offensive  warfare 
in  America  and  to  direct  their  energies  against  France, 
Spain,  and  Holland.  It  was  high  time.  Early  in  1782 
England  lost  the  island  of  Minorca  and  several  of  the 
West  Indies.  From  the  English  point  of  view  the  next 
move  was  to  induce  America  to  forswear  her  French  ally 
and  accept  a  separate  peace.  Attempts  in  this  direction 
had  indeed  already  been  made.  Lord  North  had  made 
use  of  David  Hartley,  an  intimate  friend  of  Franklin; 
and  one  Digges,  who  was  a  great  deal  of  a  rascal,  but 
who  claimed  to  represent  Lord  North,  had  interviewed 
Franklin  in  Paris  and  Adams  in  Holland.  Neither  of 
these  attempts,  nor  a  like  one  to  seduce  France  from  the 
support  of  America,  availed  to  disturb  the  close  relations 
existing  between  Franklin  and  the  French  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  Vergennes.  Had  he  wished  to  do  so 
Franklin  would  not  have  dared  to  go  back  on  the  in- 
structions to  the  American  Commissioners  for  Peace,  in- 
structions which  forbade  negotiation  without  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  French  Ministers.  He  was  glad  to  live  up  to 
them  and  kept  Vergennes  informed  of  every  move.  The 
only  effect  of  such  efforts  had  been  to  rouse  the  resent- 
ment of  Franklin,  who  was,  in  consequence,  in  no  mood 
at  all  to  listen  to  further  negotiations  of  the  kind.  This 
the  student  should  bear  in  mind. 

On  March  20,  1782,  Lord  North  resigned,  and  the 
Rockingham  Cabinet  was  formed  from  the  two  wings  of 
the  Whig  party.  The  union  was  a  marriage  of  convenience 
and  was  destined  to  prove  a  mesalliance.  Charles  Fox, 
Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs,  was  in  favor  of 
immediate  and  unconditional  recognition  of  American 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

independence.  That  such  a  recognition  would  throw  the 
negotiations  into  his  hands,  since  the  United  States  would 
cease  to  be  a  colonial  possession  and  would  at  once  be- 
come a  foreign  nation,  cannot  be  said  to  have  been  the 
determining  motive  of  a  man  who  had  on  many  occasions 
wished  success  to  the  revolting  colonies.  Lord  Shel- 
burne,  Secretary  for  Home  Affairs,  Ireland,  and  the 
Colonies,  a  personal  and  political  opponent  of  Fox,  had 
leaned,  as  a  follower  of  Chatham,  toward  some  scheme  of 
federation  between  Great  Britain  and  America,  but  was 
now  coming  around,  reluctantly  enough,  to  the  possibility 
of  separation.  He  thought  independence  might  have  to 
be  granted,  but  only  in  return  for  important  concessions. 
Meantime,  so  long  as  independence  had  not  been  given, 
he  had,  as  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies,  charge 
of  the  negotiations  for  peace.  Seldom  had  English  di- 
plomacy been  so  confused  with  party  politics. 

In  the  summer  of  1781,  even  before  Yorktown,  John 
Adams,  John  Jay,  Benjamin  Franklin,  Henry  Laurens, 
and  Thomas  Jefferson  1  had  been  commissioned  to  make 
peace2  whenever  the  time  should  be  ripe.  For  such  a 

1  Adams  was  in  Holland  trying  to  negotiate  a  treaty  and  to  ob- 
tain a  loan;  Jay  was  in  Spain  on  a  similar  mission;  Jefferson  did 
not  get  away;  Laurens  was  a  prisoner  in  England  at  the  time  the 
commission  was  given,  but,  though  released,  was  unable  to  take  much 
part  in  the  negotiations.  Franklin  knew  that  he  could  count  only 
on  Adams  and  Jay,  but  did  not  know  when  they  would  be  able  to 
get  to  Paris. 

*  Owing  to  the  influence  of  the  French  representative  in  America, 
they  had  been  instructed  "to  make  the  most  candid  and  confidential 
communications  upon  all  subjects  to  the  ministers  of  our  generous 
ally,  the  King  of  France;  to  undertake  nothing  in  the  negotiations 
for  peace  or  truce  without  their  knowledge  and  concurrence;  and 
ultimately  to  govern  yourselves  by  their  advice  and  opinion." 
Such  instructions  were  no  hardship  to  Franklin,  but  his  trust  in 
the  French  Ministers  was  not  fully  shared  by  either  Adams  or  Jay. 

286 


Beginning  of  Peace  Negotiations 

task  Franklin  was  in  a  peculiarly  good  position.  He 
represented  America  at  the  French  Court,  and  was  in  the 
good  books  of  both  the  Court  and  the  people.  He  had, 
furthermore,  the  confidence  of  Vergennes.  Before  Frank- 
lin knew  that  Shelburne  had  joined  the  Rockingham 
Ministry,  he  had,  on  the  strength  of  a  former  friendship 
and  as  the  upshot  of  a  call  from  Lord  Cholmondeley, 
written  Shelburne  a  letter  in  which  he  expressed  the  hope 
of  a  "general  peace."  It  was  natural  that  Shelburne, 
when  he  came  into  power,  should  return  such  a  lead. 
With  the  knowledge  of  Rockingham  and  other  members 
of  the  Cabinet  he  sent  Richard  Oswald,  an  elderly  Scotch 
merchant  who  had  been  introduced  to  him  by  Adam 
Smith,  and  who  had  large  interests  in  America,  to  treat 
with  the  American  representative  in  Paris.  Oswald,  who 
was  an  honest  if  somewhat  simple-minded  gentleman,  was 
cordially  received  by  Franklin  and  was  presented  by  him 
to  Vergennes. 

The  rest  of  the  story  the  student  will  piece  together 
from  the  source  extracts  which  follow.  It  is  a  wise 
statement  of  Gardiner  that  no  part  of  historical  method 
is  so  fruitful  as  tracing  the  order  of  events  in  time.  In  no 
field  of  history  is  this  so  true  as  in  diplomacy.  The 
student  can  thread  his  way  through  the  negotiations 
down  to  that  point  in  June  when  the  Cabinet  through 
Shelburne  empowered  Oswald  to  treat  with  the  American 
commissioners.  Just  at  that  time,  when  Fox  announced 
his  intention  of  resigning,  Lord  Rockingham  died.  Shel- 
burne was  asked  to  head  the  new  Cabinet,  and  Fox,  of 
course,  refused  to  enter  it.  Thomas  Grenville,  who  had 
been  Fox's  appointee  at  Paris,  was  replaced  by  Lord 
Fitzherbert,  and  treaties  of  peace  were  concluded  between 
England  and  the  four  nations  with  which  she  had  been 
at  war. 

287 


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II.    INTRODUCTION  TO   THE    SOURCES 

1.  The  Writings  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  collected  and 
edited  by  A.  H.  Smyth  [New  York,  1906],  Vol.  VIII. 
[Two  important  letters  written  by  Oswald  and  Shelburne 
have  been  taken  from  Jared  Sparks's  edition  of  Frank- 
lin's works  (Boston,  1840),  Vol.  IX.] 

2.  The  Life  of  William,  Earl  of  Shelburne,  afterward 
first  Marquess  of  Lansdowne.     With   Extracts  from   his 
Papers  and  Correspondence  [London,  1876],  Vol.  III. 

3.  The  Life  and  Times  of  Charles  James  Fox,  by  the 
Right    Honorable   Lord   John   Russell,    M.P.    [London, 
1853],  Vol.   I. 

4.  The  Autobiography  and  Political  Correspondence  of 
.  .  .  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  edited  by  Sir  W.  R.  Anson 
[London,  1898]. 

The  works  above  mentioned  include  several  kinds  of 
sources  which  may  be  classified  under  four  headings. 

a.  Franklin's  Journal. 

Franklin  wrote  this  as  a  report  to  Robert  Livingston, 
Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs  of  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  and  he  undoubtedly  intended  it  for  future  publica- 
tion. He  was  conscious  of  the  posterity  to  whom  he  was 
speaking,  and  knew  that  every  part  of  his  narrative  could 
be  tested  by  other  accounts.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Oswald's 
diary  of  events,  which  has  been  preserved  in  the  Lans- 
downe MSS.,  agrees  with  Franklin's  Journal  in  almost 
every  detail. 

6.  Letters  from  participants  in  the  events. 

These  are  to  be  found  in  the  three  works  mentioned 
above  under  1,2,  and  3.  They  tell  the  story  at  the  time 
from  the  pens  of  men  who  took  part,  responsible  and  care- 
ful men  who  realized  the  meaning  of  words.  Better  evi* 

288 


Beginning  of  Peace  Negotiations 

dence  could  hardly  be  asked  for.  These  letters  are  from 
Charles  James  Fox,  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs 
in  the  Rockingham  Ministry;  William,  Earl  of  Shelburne, 
Secretary  of  State  for  Home  Affairs,  Ireland,  and  the 
Colonies  in  the  Rockingham  Ministry;  Thomas  Grenville, 
English  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  France;  Richard 
Oswald,  Shelburne's  representative  in  Paris  for  negotiation 
with  Franklin,  and  later  English  Minister  Plenipotentiary 
to  treat  with  the  American  Commissioners;  Benjamin 
Franklin,  American  Commissioner  Plenipotentiary  to 
France  and  Commissioner  to  treat  for  peace  with  Eng- 
land. 

c.  The  Autobiography  of  the  Duke  of  Grafton. 

Grafton  was  Lord  Privy  Seal  in  the  Rockingham  Cabi- 
net and  his  Autobiography  contains  his  recollections  of 
what  happened  in  the  Cabinet.  Because  it  was  put  to- 
gether somewhat  later  and  depends  at  least  in  part  upon 
the  accuracy  of  memory  of  an  old  man,  it  cannot  be  so 
fully  trusted  as  letters  written  at  the  time.  But  a  large 
part,  including  what  is  quoted,  was  based  upon  contem- 
porary memoranda. 

d.  Minutes  of  Cabinet  meetings. 

No  formal  minutes  of  Cabinet  meetings  were  ever  kept. 
Fox's  notes  of  such  sessions  were  purely  for  his  own 
memory,  and  were  probably  put  together  after  the  sessions. 


III.    QUESTIONS   AND  SUGGESTIONS  TOR   STUDY 

x.  Write  a  consecutive  narrative  of  the  events  concerning  the 
negotiations  from  March  22  to  July  i,  1782. 

2.  Upon  what  basis  did  Oswald  indicate  that  Shelburne  was 

willing  to  begin  negotiations? 

3.  How  much  enlightenment  did  Franklin  get  from  his  first 

interview  with  Oswald? 
289 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

4.  Where  does  Oswald  first  show  himself  more  honest  than 

diplomatic? 

5.  Why  should  Franklin  hesitate  to  give  the  Notes  on  Canada 

to  Oswald?    Is  the  reason  he  offers  for  regretting  his 
step  the  only  reason  he  may  have  had? 

6.  On  what  condition  did  Franklin  give  the  Notes? 

7.  Who  saw  the  Notes  in  England?    Were  they  of  such  a 

nature  as  to  have  deserved  consideration  by  the  whole 
Cabinet? 

8.  Why  did  Shelburne  not  show  the  Notes  to  Rockingham? 

to  Fox? 

9.  Did  Fox  and  Grenville  read  too  much  official  significance  into 

the  Notes? 
10.  What  error  in  diplomatic  courtesy  did  Grenville  commit 

upon  arriving  in  Paris? 
it.  With  whom  did  the  English  Cabinet  consider  that  Grenville 

was  sent  to  confer?     To  whom  did  he  consider  himself 

sent? 

12.  How  did  Grenville 's  first  proposal  to  Vergennes  compare 

with  Oswald's  first  suggestion  to  Franklin? 

13.  What  diplomatic  stand  was  Grenville  in  his  first  interview 

trying  to  force  Vergennes  into? 

14.  What  progress  had  been  made  at  the  end  of  that  interview? 

15.  Why  was  Oswald  so  uncommunicative  on  his  second  visit 

to  Paris? 

16.  What  part  did  the  Notes  about  Canada  play  in  Oswald's 

second  visit? 

17.  In  what  attitude  of  mind  was  Franklin  toward  suggestions 

for  a  separate  peace  with  America?    Why? 

1 8.  For  what  was  Grenville  in  his  first  interview  with  Franklin 

trying  to  pave  the  way? 

19.  Was  Franklin  sincere  in  all  his  answers? 

20.  Did  Grenville  gain  anything  more  from  Franklin  in  this 

interview  than  Franklin  tells  us  of  in  his  Journal? 

21.  What  misstatement  did  Grenville  make  concerning  his  com- 

mission?   How  was  the  statement  received  by  Franklin 
and  Vergennes? 

290 


Beginning  of  Peace  Negotiations 

22.  Was  there  any  reason  for  the  form  of  Grenville's  com- 

mission? 

23.  Was  Franklin  satisfied  with  Grenville's  explanation? 

24.  What  was  Grenville's  motive  in  acquainting  Franklin  with 

one  of  his  instructions?     Was  his  action  premature? 

25.  State  the  two  points  of  view  in  the  English  Cabinet  with  re- 

gard to  acknowledging  American  independence. 

26.  What  was  Franklin's  and  Vergennes's  opinion  of  the  English 

efforts  to  use  the  acknowledgment  of  American  inde- 
pendence as  part  of  the  bargain? 

27.  Compare  Franklin's  account  of  Grenville's  visit  on  June 

ist  with  Grenville's  account. 

28.  Was  Oswald  in  Paris  secretly?    Had  Fox  reason  to  know  of 

his  presence  there  or  of  his  intention  of  being  there? 

29.  What  was  Grenville's  explanation  of  Franklin's  failure  to 

discuss  the  terms  of  peace  with  him  on  June  ist? 

30.  What  explanation  can  be  inferred  from  Franklin's  account 

of  the  conversation? 

31.  Do  Oswald's  and  Franklin's  accounts  bear  out  the  state- 

ment that  Franklin  was  reserving  his  confidence  for 
Oswald? 

32.  How  do  you  explain  Franklin's  refusal  to  discuss  the  terms 

of  a  treaty  as  he  had  promised  to  do?    How  did  he 
explain  it?    How  did  Grenville? 

33.  When  did  Franklin  learn  that  Oswald  would  be  given  a 

separate  commission  if  Franklin  so  desired? 

34.  When  and  how  did  he  act  on  that  knowledge?    Why  not 

before?     Does   this   throw   any    light   on    Grenville's 
letter  to  Fox  (June  4th)? 

35.  At  whose  instance  was  Oswald  to  be  given  a  separate  com- 

mission? 

36.  What  suggestion  did  Grenville  make  to  get  the  negotiation 

wholly  into  Fox's  hands?    Would  it  have  accomplished 
that  result? 

37.  How  would  you  answer  the  two  questions  in  Fox's  letter  to 

Grenville    (June    loth)    concerning    possible    charges 
against  Shelburne? 

291 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

38.  Did  Grenville  discover  "further  proofs  of  duplicity"  upon 

the  part  of  Shelburne  and  Oswald? 

39.  What  is  the  importance  of  the  Enabling  Act  in  reference  to 

Franklin's  unwillingness  to  discuss  terms? 

40.  What  estimate  did  Franklin  make  of  the  two  men,  Grenville 

and  Oswald? 

41.  What  incident  between  June  3d  and  isth  might  have  af- 

fected Franklin's  feeling  toward  Grenville? 

42.  Was  Grenville's  failure  due  to  Franklin's  reticence?    Shel- 

burne's  duplicity?  Oswald's  interference?  the  English 
Cabinet  situation?   or  his  own  diplomatic  errors? 


IV,    The   Sources 

i .  The  Writings  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  collected  and 
edited  by  A.  H.  Smyth.     Journal  of  the  Ne- 
gotiation for  Peace  with  Great  Britain.    From 
March  21  to  July  i,  1782,  Vol.  VIII,  p.  459,  et 
s  passim. 

PASSY,  9  May,  1782. 

As  since  the  change  of  ministry  in  England 
some  serious  professions  have  been  made  of  their 
disposition  to  peace,  and  of  their  readiness  to  enter 
10  into  a  general  treaty  for  that  purpose ;  and  as  the 
concerns  and  claims  of  five  nations  are  to  be  dis- 
cussed in  that  treaty,  which  must  therefore  be  in- 
teresting to  the  present  age,  and  to  posterity,  I  am 
inclined  to  keep  a  journal  of  the  proceedings,  as  far 
is  as  they  come  to  my  knowledge;  and,  to  make  it 
more  complete,  I  will  first  endeavor  to  recollect  what 
has  already  passed.  Great  affairs  sometimes  take 
their  rise  from  small  circumstances.  .  .  . 

[Lord  Cholmondeley  going  through  Paris  was  intro- 

ao  duced  to  Franklin  and  offered  to  take  a  letter  from  him 

to  Shelburne,  whom  Franklin  had  known  in  England.     In 

that  letter  Franklin  expressed  the  hope  that  a  "general 

293 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

peace"  might  soon  be  made.     In  reply  Shelburne  sent 
Richard  Oswald  to  discuss  the  possibilities  of  peace.] 

I  entered  into  conversation  with  Mr.  Oswald 
[April  1 5th].  He  was  represented  in  the  letter  as 

s  fully  apprized  of  Lord  Shelburne's  mind,  and  I  was 
desirous  of  knowing  it.  All  I  could  learn  was,  that 
the  new  ministry  sincerely  wished  for  peace;  that 
they  considered  the  object  of  the  war  to  France  and 
America  as  obtained;  that,  if  the  independence  of 

xo  the  United  States  was  agreed  to,  there  was  no  other 
point  in  dispute,  and  therefore  nothing  to  hinder  a 
pacification;  that  they  were  ready  to  treat  of  peace, 
but  intimated,  that,  if  France  should  insist  upon 
terms  too  humiliating  to  England,  they  could  still 

15  continue  the  war,  having  yet  great  strength  and 
many  resources  left.  I  let  him  know,  that  America 
would  not  treat  but  in  concert  with  France,  and  that, 
my  colleagues  not  being  here,  I  could  do  nothing  of 
importance  in  the  affair;  but  that,  if  he  pleased,  I 

ao  would  present  him  to  M.  de  Vergennes,  Secretary  of 
State  for  Foreign  Affairs.  .  .  . 

[Franklin  to  Shelburne.     April  18,  1782.] 

...  I  have  conversed  a  good  deal  with  Mr.  Oswald,  and  am  much 
pleased  with  him.  He  appears  to  me  a  wise  and  honest  man.  I  ac- 

as  quainted  him,  that  I  was  commissioned,  with  others,  to  treat  of  and 
conclude  a  peace;  that  full  powers  were  given  us  for  that  purpose, 
and  that  the  Congress  promised  in  good  faith  to  ratify,  confirm,  and 
cause  to  be  faithfully  observed,  the  treaty  we  should  make;  but 
that  we  would  not  treat  separately  from  France,  and  I  proposed 

30  introducing  him  to  the  Count  de  Vergennes,  to  whom  I  communi- 
cated your  Lordship's  letter  containing  Mr.  Oswald's  character,  as 

294 


Beginning  of  Peace  Negotiations 

a  foundation  for  the  interviews.  .  .  .  Being  myself  but  one  of  the 
four  persons  now  in  Europe  commissioned  by  the  Congress  to  treat 
of  peace,  I  can  make  no  propositions  of  much  importance  without 
them. 

s  [Journal.]  In  going  to  him  [to  give  him  the  let- 
ter to  carry  to  Shelburne],  I  had  also  in  view  the 
entering  into  a  conversation,  which  might  draw  out 
something  of  the  mind  of  his  court  on  the  subject 
of  Canada  and  Nova  Scotia.  I  had  thrown  some 

10  loose  thoughts  on  paper,  which  I  intended  to  serve 
as  memorandums  for  my  discourse,  but  without  a 
fixed  intention  of  showing  them  to  him. 

[Franklin  suggested  to  Oswald  that  as  peace  without 
real  reconciliation  might  bring  about  future  quarrels, 

is  England  might  well  afford  to  give  Canada  to  the  United 
States  by  way  of  reparation  for  her  scalping  and  burning 
parties.  Oswald  appeared  "struck"  with  this  discourse 
and  asked  to  see  his  notes,  which  were  at  length  given. 
The  notes  threw  out  the  idea  that  Canada  as  a  neighbor 

20  would  be  a  danger  to  the  United  States,  that  England 
ought  to  give  it  up  not  only  as  reparation,  but  as  a  means 
of  enabling  Congress  through  the  sale  of  lands  to  com- 
pensate the  "royalists."  The  notes  ended,  "This  is 
mere  conversation  matter  between  Mr.  Oswald  and  Mr. 

as  Franklin,  as  the  former  is  not  empowered  to  make  proposi- 
tions and  the  latter  cannot  make  any  without  the  con- 
currence of  his  colleagues."  Oswald  took  back  also  the 
letter  from  Franklin  to  Shelburne  indicating  his  satisfac- 
tion with  Oswald  as  a  negotiator  and  saying  further  that 

30  he  desired  no  other  channel  of  communication  between 
them.] 

295 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

By  the  first  opportunity  after  his  departure, 
I  wrote  ...  to  Mr.  Adams.  ...  I  omitted  only  the 
paper  of  Notes  for  Conversation  with  Mr.  Oswald, 
but  gave  the  substance,  as  appears  in  the  letter. 
t  s  The  reason  of  my  omitting  it  was  that,  on  reflection, 
I  was  not  pleased  with  m/  having  hinted  a  repara- 
tion to  the  Tories  for  their  forfeited  estates,  and  I 
was  a  little  ashamed  of  my  weakness  in  permitting 
the  paper  to  go  out  of  my  hands. 

10  [Shelburne  sent  Oswald  back  with  a  letter  to  Franklin, 
April  28th,  telling  of  the  decision  of  the  Cabinet  to  send 
Oswald  to  him.  Oswald  was  to  settle  "the  preliminaries 
of  time  and  place."  "It  is  also  determined,"  he  wrote, 
"that  Mr.  Fox  .  .  .  shall  send  a  proper  person  [Grenville], 

is  who  may  confer  and  settle  immediately  with  Monr.  de 
Vergennes  the  further  measures  and  proceedings.  ...  In 
the  mean  time  Mr.  Oswald  is  instructed  to  communicate 
to  you  my  thoughts  upon  the  principal  objects  to  be  set- 
tled." Oswald  and  Franklin  went  to  see  Vergennes  and 

•o  Oswald  spoke  of  Grenville's  expected  arrival.] 

On  the  whole  I  was  able  to  draw  so  little  from  Mr. 

Oswald  of  the  sentiments  of  Lord  Shelburne,  who  had 

mentioned  him  as  intrusted  with  the  communication 

of  them,  that  I  could  not  but  wonder  at  his  being 

»s  sent  again  to  me.  .  .  . 

On  Tuesday  I  was  at  court  as  usual  on  that  day. 

M.  de  Vergennes  asked  me,  if  Mr.  Oswald  had  not 

opened  himself  farther  to  me?     I  acquainted  him 

with  the  sight  I  had  had  of  the  Minute  of  Council, 

*>      [An extract  from  which  OswaldhadshownFranklin.] 

296 


Beginning  of  Peace  Negotiations 

and  of  the  loose  expressions  contained  in  it,  of  what 
was  in  contemplation.  He  seemed  to  think  it  odd 
that  he  had  brought  nothing  more  explicit.  I  sup- 
posed Mr.  Grenville  might  be  better  furnished. 

s  [Grenville  arrived  on  May  8th,  and,  instead  of  going 
first  to  Versailles  to  Vergennes  to  whom  he  was  credited, 
went  to  see  Franklin,  and  presented  to  him  an  intro- 
ductory letter1  from  Fox.] 

I  imagined  the  gentleman  had  been  at  Versailles, 
10  as  I  supposed  Mr.  Grenville  would  first  have  waited 
on  M.  de  Vergennes  before  he  called  on  me.  But 
finding  in  conversation  that  he  had  not,  and  that  he 
expected  me  to  introduce  him,  I  immediately  wrote 
to  the  minister.  .  .  . 

is  [May  pth  Franklin  took  Grenville  for  the  interview 
with  Vergennes,  who  received  the  young  man  cordially.] 

What  my  memory  retains  of  the  discourse  amounts 
to  little  more  than  this,  that,  after  mutual  declara- 
tions of  the  good  dispositions  of  the  two  courts,  Mr. 

ao  Grenville  having  intimated  that,  in  case  England 
gave  America  independence,  France,  it  was  expected, 
would  return  the  conquests  she  had  made  of  Brit- 
ish islands,  receiving  back  those  of  Miquelon  and 
St.  Pierre.  And,  the  original  object  of  the  war  being 

as  obtained,  it  was  supposed  that  France  would  be 


letter  dated  May  ist  began:  "Though  Mr.  Oswald  will, 
no  doubt,  have  informed  you  of  the  nature  of  Mr.  Grenville's  com- 
mission," etc. 

297 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

contented  with  that.  The  minister  seemed  to  smile 
at  the  proposed  exchange,  and  remarked  that  the 
offer  of  giving  independence  to  America  amounted 
to  little:  "America,"  says  he,  "does  not  ask  it  of 

s  you:  there  is  Mr.  Franklin;  he  will  answer  you  as 
to  that  point."  "To  be  sure,"  I  said,  "we  do  not 
consider  ourselves  as  under  any  necessity  of  bar- 
gaining for  a  thing  that  is  our  own  and  which  we 
have  bought  at  the  expense  of  much  blood  and 

10  treasure,  and  which  we  are  in  full  possession  of." 

[Vergennes  was  quite  as  positive  in  refusing  to  go  back 
to  the  basis  of  the  treaty  of  1763.     England  did  not  con- 
tent herself,  he  said,  in  that  war  with  what  she  hoped  at 
its  beginning  to  attain.     He  agreed,  however,  to  corn- 
is  municate  immediately  with  Spain  and  Holland.] 

Friday  morning,  the  loth  of  May,  I  went  to  Paris 
and  visited  Mr.  Oswald.  I  found  him  in  the  same 
friendly  dispositions,  and  very  desirous  of  good,  and 
seeing  an  end  put  to  this  ruinous  war.  But  I  got 
20  no  farther  light  as  to  the  sentiments  of  Lord  Shel- 
burne  respecting  the  terms. 

[On  May  i3th  Franklin  learned  that  Oswald  was  to 
return  to  London  at  once.] 
Franklin  to  Shelburne. 

»S  PASSY,  13  May,  1782. 

...  I  then  hoped  that  gentleman  [Oswald]  would  have  remained 
here  some  time,  but  his  affairs,  it  seems,  recall  him  sooner  than  he 
imagined.  I  hope  he  will  return  again,  as  I  esteem  him  more,  the 
more  I  am  acquainted  with  him,  and  believe  his  moderation,  pru- 

298 


Beginning  of  Peace  Negotiations 

dent  counsels,  and  sound  judgment  may  contribute  much,  not  only 
to  the  speedy  conclusion  of  a  peace,  but  to  the  framing  such  a  peace 
as  may  be  firm  and  long  lasting.  .  .  . 

[Journal.]    I  went  in  the  evening  to  Mr.  Oswald's 

s  lodgings  with  my  letters,  when  he  informed  me,  his 
intention  was  to  return  immediately  hither  from 
England.  .  .  .  We  had  but  little  conversation,  for 
Mr.  Grenville  coming  in,  I  ...  retired,  that  I  might 
not  interrupt  their  consultations. 

10  Since  his  departure,  Mr.  Grenville  has  made  me 
a  visit;  and  entered  into  a  conversation  with  me, 
exactly  of  the  same  tenor  with  the  letters  I  formerly 
received  from  Mr.  Hartley,  stating  suppositions 
that  France  might  insist  on  points  totally  different 

is  from  what  had  been  the  object  of  our  alliance,  and 
that  in  such  case  he  should  imagine  we  were  not 
at  all  bound  to  continue  the  war  to  obtain  such 
points  for  her,  &c.  I  thought  I  could  not  give  him 
a  better  answer  to  this  kind  of  discourse  than  what 

*>  I  had  given  in  two  letters  to  Mr.  Hartley,  and,  there- 
fore, calling  for  those  letters,  I  read  them  to  him. 
He  smiled,  and  would  have  turned  the  conversation ; 
but  I  gave  a  little  more  of  my  sentiments  on  the 
general  subject  of  benefits,  obligations,  and  grati- 

35  tude. 

[Franklin  then  gave  a  supposititious  case  carrying  very 
far  the  duty  and  obligation  of  gratitude.] 

Mr.  Grenville  conceived  that  it  was  carrying  grati- 
tude very  far,  to  apply  this  doctrine  to  our  situation 
20  299 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

in  respect  to  France,  who  was  really  the  party 
served  and  obliged  by  our  separation  from  England, 
as  it  lessened  the  power  of  her  rival  and  relatively 
increased  her  own. 

s  I  told  him,  I  was  so  strongly  impressed  with  the 
kind  assistance  afforded  us  by  France  in  our  dis- 
tress, and  the  generous  and  noble  manner  in  which 
it  was  granted,  without  exacting  or  stipulating  for 
a  single  privilege,  or  particular  advantage  to  herself 

">  in  our  commerce,  or  otherwise,  that  I  could  never 
suffer  myself  to  think  of  such  reasonings  for  lessen- 
ing the  obligation;  and  I  hoped,  and,  indeed,  did 
not  doubt,  but  my  countrymen  were  all  of  the  same 
sentiments. 

is  Thus  he  gained  nothing  of  the  point  he  came  to 
push;  we  parted,  however,  in  good  humour.  His 
conversation  is  always  polite,  and  his  manner  pleas- 
ing. As  he  expressed  a  strong  desire  to  discourse 
with  me  on  the  means  of  a  reconciliation  with  Amer- 

ao  ica,  I  promised  to  consider  the  subject,  and  appointed 
Saturday  the  first  day  of  June  for  our  conversation, 
when  he  proposed  to  call  on  me.  .  .  . 

Our  business  standing  still  at  present  till  the  re- 
turn of  Mr.  Oswald,  gives  me  a  void  that  I  may  fill 

as  up  with  two  or  three  circumstances.  .  .  . 

[May  26th.]  Mr.  Grenville  visited  me.  He  ac- 
quainted me  that  his  courier  was  returned,  and  had 
brought  him  full  powers  in  form  to  treat  for  a  peace 
with  France  and  her  allies.  That  he  had  been  to 

300 


Beginning  of  Peace  Negotiations 

Versailles,  and  had  shown  his  power  to  M.  de  Ver- 
gennes,  and  left  a  copy  with  him.  .  .  .  That  Mr. 
Oswald  had  arrived  in  London.  .  .  . 

He  [Grenville]  had  requested  me  at  our  last  inter- 

s  view  that,  if  I  saw  no  impropriety  in  doing  it,  I 
would  favor  him  with  a  sight  of  the  treaty  of  alliance 
between  France  and  America.  I  acquainted  him 
that  it  was  printed,  but  that  if  he  could  not  readily 
meet  with  a  copy,  I  would  have  one  written  for  him. 

10  And  as  he  had  not  been  able  to  find  one,  I  this  day 
gave  it  to  him.  .  .  . 

On  Tuesday  [May  28th]  I  dined  at  Versailles  with 
some  friends,  so  was  not  at  home  when  the  Marquis 
de  Lafayette  called  to  acquaint  me,  that  M.  de  Ver- 

is  gennes  had  informed  him,  that  the  full  power  re- 
ceived by  Mr.  Grenville  from  London,  and  com- 
municated by  him,  related  to  France  only.  The 
Marquis  left  for  me  this  information,  which  I  could 
not  understand.  On  Wednesday  [May  2gth]  I  was 

ao  at  court,  and  saw  the  copy  of  the  power.  It  ap- 
peared full  with  regard  to  treating  with  France,  but 
mentioned  not  a  word  of  her  allies.  And  as  M.  de 
Vergennes  had  explicitly  and  constantly  from  the 
beginning  declared  to  the  several  messengers,  Mr. 

as  Forth,  Mr.  Oswald,  and  Mr.  Grenville,  that  France 
could  only  treat  in  concert  with  her  allies,  and  it  had 
in  consequence  been  declared  on  the  part  of  the 
British  ministry,  that  they  consented  to  treat  for  a 
general  peace,  and  at  Paris,  the  sending  this  partial 

301 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

power  appeared  to  be  insidious,  and  a  mere  inven- 
tion to  occasion  delay,  the  late  disaster  to  the  French 
fleet  having  probably  given  the  court  of  England 
fresh  courage  and  other  views. 

s  M.  de  Vergennes  said  he  should  see  Mr.  Gren- 
ville  on  Thursday,  and  would  speak  his  mind  to 
him  on  the  subject  very  plainly.  "They  want,"  said 
he,  "to  treat  with  us  for  you,  but  this  the  King  will 
not  agree  to.  He  thinks  it  not  consistent  with  the 

10  dignity  of  your  state.  You  will  treat  for  yourselves ; 
and  every  one  of  the  powers  at  war  with  England 
will  make  its  own  treaty.  All  that  is  necessary  to 
be  observed  for  our  common  security  is,  that  the 
treaties  go  hand  in  hand,  and  are  signed  all  on  the 

is  same  day." 

...  On  Friday,  May  3ist,  Mr.  Oswald  called  on 
me,  being  just  returned,  and  brought  me  .  .  .  letters 
from  David  Hartley,  and  two  letters  from  Lord  Shel- 
burne,  the  first  of  which  had  been  written  before  his 

20  arrival.  .  .  . 

[Shelburne's  first  letter  was  an  answer  to  Franklin's  of 

May  loth,  and  said  that  Oswald  would  stay  in  Paris 

until    further   orders.      The   second    was   written   after 

Oswald  went  back  to  England,  and  announced  his  in- 

35  tended  return  to  Paris.] 

I  had  not  then  time  to  converse  much  with  Mr. 
Oswald,  and  he  promised  to  come  and  breakfast 
with  me  on  Monday  [June  3d]. 

Saturday,  June  ist,  Mr.  Grenville  came,  according 
302 


Beginning  of  Peace  Negotiations 

to  appointment.  Our  conversation  began  by  my 
acquainting  him,  that  I  had  seen  the  Count  de  Ver- 
gennes,  and  had  perused  the  copy  left  with  him  of 
the  power  to  treat.  That  after  what  he,  Mr.  Gren- 

s  ville  told  me  of  its  being  to  treat  with  France  and 
her  allies,  I  was  a  little  surprised  to  find  in  it  no 
mention  of  the  allies,  and  that  it  was  only  to  treat 
with  the  King  of  France  and  his  ministers;  that  at 
Versailles  there  was  some  suspicion  of  its  being  in- 

10  tended  to  occasion  delay;  the  professed  desire  of 
speedy  peace  being  perhaps  abated  in  the  British 
court  since  its  late  successes;  but  that  I  imagined 
the  words  relating  to  the  allies  might  have  been  ac- 
cidentally omitted  in  transcribing,  or  that,  perhaps, 

is  he  had  a  special  power  to  treat  with  us  distinct  from 
the  other. 

He  answered  that  the  copy  was  right,  and  that 
he  had  no  such  special  power  in  form,  but  that  his 
instructions  were  full  to  that  purpose,  and  that  he 

30  was  sure  the  ministry  had  no  desire  of  delay,  nor  any 
of  excluding  us  from  the  treaty,  since  the  greatest 
part  of  those  instructions  related  to  treating  with 
me.  That  to  convince  me  of  the  sincerity  of  his 
court  respecting  us,  he  would  acquaint  me  with  one 

as  of  his  instructions,  though  perhaps  the  doing  it  now 
was  premature,  and  therefore  a  little  inconsistent 
with  the  character  of  a  politician,  but  he  had  that 
confidence  in  me  that  he  should  not  hesitate  to  in- 
form me  (though  he  wished  that  at  present  it  should 

3°3 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

go  no  further),  he  was  instructed  to  acknowledge  the  in- 
dependence of  America,  previous  to  the  commencement 
of  the  treaty.  And  he  said  he  could  only  account  for 
the  omission  of  America  in  the  POWER,  by  supposing 

$  that  it  was  an  old  official  form  copied  from  that 
given  to  Mr.  Stanley,  when  he  came  over  hither  be- 
fore the  last  peace.  Mr.  Grenville  added  that  he 
had  immediately  after  his  interview  with  M.  de 
Vergennes,  despatched  a  courier  to  London,  and 

10  hoped  that  with  his  return  the  difficulty  would  be 
removed;  that  he  was  perfectly  assured  their  late 
successes  had  made  no  change  in  the  dispositions  of 
his  court  to  peace,  and  that  he  had  more  reason 
than  M.  de  Vergennes  to  complain  of  delay,  since 

is  five  days  were  spent  before  he  could  obtain  a  pass- 
port for  his  courier,  and  then  it  was  not  to  go  and 
return  by  way  of  Calais,  but  to  go  by  Ostend,  which 
would  occasion  a  delay  of  five  days  longer.  Mr. 
Grenville  then  spoke  much  of  the  high  opinion  the 

*>  present  ministry  had  of  me,  and  their  great  esteem 
for  me.  .  .  . 

Mr.  Grenville  then  discoursed  of  our  resolution 
not  to  treat  without  our  allies.  "This,"  says  he,  "can 
properly  only  relate  to  France,  with  whom  you  have 

as  a  treaty  of  alliance,  but  you  have  none  with  Spain, 
you  have  none  with  Holland.  If  Spain  and  Holland, 
and  even  if  France  should  insist  on  unreasonable 
terms  of  advantage  to  themselves,  after  you  have 
obtained  all  you  want,  and  are  satisfied,  can  it  be 

304 


Beginning  of  Peace  Negotiations 

right  that  America  should  be  dragged  on  in  a  war 
for  their  interests  only?"  He  stated  this  matter  in 
various  lights  and  pressed  it  earnestly. 

I  resolved  from  various  reasons  to  evade  the  dis- 

s  cussion,  and  therefore  answered  that  the  intended 
treaty  not  being  yet  begun,  it  appeared  unnecessary 
to  enter  at  present  into  considerations  of  that  kind. 
The  preliminaries  being  once  settled  and  the  treaty 
commenced,  if  any  of  the  other  powers  should  make 

»o  extravagant  demands  on  England,  and  insist  on  our 
continuing  the  war  till  those  were  complied  with, 
it  would  then  be  time  enough  for  us  to  consider 
what  our  obligations  were,  and  how  far  they  ex- 
tended. The  first  thing  necessary  was  for  him  to 

*s  procure  the  full  powers,  the  next  for  us  to  assemble 
the  plenipotentiaries  of  all  the  belligerent  parties, 
and  then  propositions  might  be  mutually  made,  re- 
ceived, considered,  answered,  or  agreed  to.  In  the 
mean  time  I  would  just  mention  to  him,  that,  though 

«o  we  were  yet  under  no  obligations  to  Spain  by  treaty, 
we  were  under  obligations  of  gratitude  for  the  as- 
sistance she  had  afforded  us ;  and  as  Mr.  Adams  had 
some  weeks  since  commenced  a  treaty  in  Holland, 
the  terms  of  which  I  was  not  yet  acquainted  with,  I 

35  knew  not  but  that  we  might  have  already  some  al- 
liance and  obligations  contracted  there.  And  per- 
haps we  ought,  however,  to  have  some  consideration 
for  Holland  on  this  account,  that  it  was  in  vengeance 
for  the  friendly  disposition  shown  by  some  of  her 

305 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

people  to  make  a  treaty  of  commerce  with  us,  that 
England  had  declared  the  war  against  her. 

He  said,  it  would  be  hard  upon  England,  if,  having 
given  reasonable  satisfaction  to  one  or  two  of  her 
s  four  enemies,  she  could  not  have  peace  with  those 
till  she  had  complied  with  whatever  the  others  might 
demand,  however  unreasonable,  for  so  she  might 
be  obliged  to  pay  for  every  article  fourfold.  I  ob- 
served that  when  she  made  her  propositions,  the 

10  more  advantageous  they  were  to  each,  the  more  it 
would  be  the  interest  of  each  to  prevail  with  the 
others  to  accept  those  offered  to  them.  We  then 
spoke  of  the  reconciliation;  but  his  full  power  not 
being  yet  come,  I  chose  to  defer  entering  upon  that 

is  subject  at  present.  I  told  him  I  had  thoughts  of 
putting  down  in  writing  the  particulars  that  I 
judged  would  conduce  to  that  end,  and  of  adding 
my  reasons,  [but]  that  this  required  a  little  time, 
and  I  had  been  hindered  by  accidents;  which  was 

ao  true,  for  I  had  begun  to  write,  but  had  postponed  it 
on  account  of  his  defective  power  to  treat.  But  I 
promised  to  finish  it  as  soon  as  possible.  He  pressed 
me  earnestly  to  do  it.  ... 

On  Monday  the  3rd,  Mr.  Oswald  came  according 

as  to  appointment. 

[He  spoke  of  his  conversations  with  Shelburne,  Fox,  and 
Rockingham,  and  then,  with  "utmost  frankness,"  told 
Franklin  that  England  had  to  have  peace,  that  "her 
enemies  have  the  ball  at  their  foot. ' '  Franklin  was  puzzled 

306 


Beginning  of  Peace  Negotiations 

at  such  "simplicity  and  honesty  "  and  somewhat  suspicious 
of  its  meaning.  Oswald  went  on  to  speak  of  the  esteem 
in  which  the  ministers  held  Franklin  and  finally  showed 
him  a  memorandum  that  Shelburne  had  given  him,  as 
s  follows]: 

1.  That  I  am  ready  to  correspond  more  particularly 
with  Dr.  Franklin  if  wished. 

2.  That  the  Enabling  Act  is  passing,  with  the  in- 
sertion of  Commissioners  recommended  by  Mr.  Oswald; 

10  and  on  our  part  Commissioners  will  be  named,  or  any 
character  given  to  Mr.  Oswald,  which  Dr.  Franklin 
and  he  may  judge  conducive  to  a  final  settlement  of 
things  between  Great  Britain  and  America;  which 
Dr.  Franklin  very  properly  says,  requires  to  be  treated 

is  in  a  very  different  manner  from  the  peace  between 
Great  Britain  and  France,  who  have  been  always  at 
enmity  with  each  other.  .  .  . 

[Journal.]  We  now  came  to  another  article  of  the 
note,  viz.     "On   our   part  Commissioners  will   be 

20  named,  or  any  character  given  to  Mr.  Oswald  which 
Dr.  Franklin  and  he  may  judge  conducive  to  a  final 
settlement  of  things  between  Great  Britain  and 
America." 

This  he  said  was  left  entirely  to  me,  for  he  had  no 

*s  will  in  the  affair;  he  did  not  desire  to  be  farther 
concerned,  than  to  see  it  en  train;  he  had  no  personal 
views  either  of  honor  or  profit.  He  had  now  seen 
and  conversed  with  Mr.  Grenville,  thought  him  a 
very  sensible  young  gentleman,  and  very  capable 

307 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

of  the  business ;  he  did  not  therefore  see  any  farther 
occasion  there  was  for  himself;  but  if  I  thought 
otherwise,  and  conceived  he  might  be  farther  useful, 
he  was  content  to  give  his  time  and  service,  in  any 

s  character  or  manner  I  should  think  proper.  I  said 
his  knowledge  of  America  where  he  had  lived,  and 
with  every  part  of  which  and  of  its  commerce  and 
circumstances  he  was  well  acquainted,  made  me 
think,  that  in  persuading  the  ministry  to  things 

10  reasonable  relating  to  that  country,  he  could  speak 
or  write  with  more  weight  than  Mr.  Grenville,  and 
therefore  I  wished  him  to  continue  in  the  service; 
and  I  asked  him,  whether  he  would  like  to  be  joined 
in  a  general  commission  for  treating  with  all  the 

is  powers  at  war  with  England,  or  to  have  a  "special 
commission  to  himself  for  treating  with  America 
only.  He  said  he  did  not  choose  to  be  concerned  in 
treating  with  the  foreign  powers,  for  he  was  not 
sufficiently  a  master  of  their  affairs,  or  of  the  French 

*>  language,  which  probably  would  be  used  in  treating; 
if,  therefore,  he  accepted  of  any  commission,  it 
should  be  that  of  treating  with  America.  I  told  him 
I  would  write  to  Lord  Shelburne  on  the  subject;  but 
Mr.  Grenville  having  some  time  since  despatched  a 

as  courier,  partly  on  account  of  the  commission,  who 
was  not  yet  returned,  I  thought  it  well  to  wait  a 
few  days,  till  we  could  see  what  answer  he  would 
bring,  or  what  measures  were  taken.  This  he  ap- 
proved of. 

308 


Beginning  of  Peace  Negotiations 

The  truth  is,  he  appears  so  good  and  so  reason- 
able a  man,  that  though  I  have  no  objection  to  Mr. 
Grenville,  I  should  be  loth  to  lose  Mr.  Oswald.  He 
seems  to  have  nothing  at  heart  but  the  good  of  man- 
s  kind,  and  putting  a  stop  to  mischief;  the  other,  a 
young  statesman,  may  be  supposed  to  have  naturally 
a  little  ambition  of  recommending  himself  as  an 
able  negotiator.  .  .  . 

Saturday,  June  8th.  I  received  some  news- 
i°  papers  from  England,  in  one  of  which  is  the  follow- 
ing paragraph. 

[From  the  London  Evening  Post  of  May  30,  1782.] 

"//  reports  on  the  spot  speak  truth,  Mr.  Grenville, 

in  his  first  visit  to  Dr.  Franklin,  gained  a  considerable 

is  point  of  information,  as  to  the  powers  America  had 

retained  for  treating  SEPARATELY  with  Great  Britain, 

in  case  her  claims,  or  demands,  were  granted." 

[There  then  follow  quotations  from  the  treaty  with 
France  as  well  as  arguments  that  America,  if  granted  in- 
»o  dependence,  might  make  a  separate  peace.] 

I  conjecture  that  this  must  be  an  extract  from  a 
letter  of  Mr.  Grenville's;  but  it  carries  an  appear- 
ance as  if  he  and  I  had  agreed  in  these  imaginary 
discoveries  of  America's  being  at  liberty  to  make 
as  peace  without  France,  whereas  my  whole  discourse 
in  the  strongest  terms  declared  our  determinations 
to  the  contrary,  and  the  impossibility  of  our  acting 
not  only  contrary  to  the  treaty,  but  the  duties  of 

309 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

gratitude  and  honor,  of  which  nothing  is  mentioned. 
This  young  negotiator  seems  to  value  himself  on 
having  obtained  from  me  a  copy  of  the  treaty.  I 
gave  it  him  freely,  at  his  request,  it  being  not  so 

s  much  a  secret  as  he  imagined,  having  been  printed, 
first  in  all  the  American  papers  soon  after  it  was 
made,  then  at  London  in  Almon's  Remembrancer, 
which  I  wonder  he  did  not  know;  and  afterward  in 
a  collection  of  the  American  Constitutions,  published 

10  by  order  of  Congress.  As  such  imperfect  accounts 
of  our  conversations  find  their  way  into  the  English 
papers,  I  must  speak  to  this  gentleman  of  its  im- 
propriety. 

[Franklin  went  to  Versailles  and  laid  before  Vergennes 

is  all  the  letters  and  detailed  to  him  the  substance  of  all  the 

conversations  with  both  Grenville  and  Oswald,  and  they 

agreed  on  the  necessity  of  acting  in  concert  and  preventing 

any  separation  of  the  countries  concerned.) 

Saturday,  the  i5th  June.  .  .  .  Mr.  Grenville  came, 

ao  and  acquainted  me  with  the  return  of  his  courier, 

and  that  he  had  brought  the  full  powers.  .  .  .  That 

the  instrument  was   in   the   same  terms  with   the 

former,  except  that,  after  the  power  to  treat  with  the 

King  of  France,  or  his  ministers,  there  was  an  addi- 

35  tion  of  words  importing  a  power  to  treat  with  the 

ministers   of  any   other  Prince   or  State  whom   it 

might  concern.  .  .  .  Mr.  Grenville  then  said  to  me, 

he  hoped  all  difficulties  were  now  removed,   and 

310 


Beginning  of  Peace  Negotiations 

that  we  might  proceed  in  the  good  work.  I  asked 
him  if  the  Enabling  Bill  was  passed?  He  said,  no. 
It  had  passed  the  Commons,  and  had  been  committed 
in  the  House  of  Lords,  but  was  not  yet  completed. 

s  [He  assured  Franklin  that  it  would  be  done  before 
Parliament  was  prorogued.]  I  then  observed  to  him 
that,  though  we  Americans  considered  ourselves  as 
a  distinct  independent  power,  or  State,  yet  as  the 
British  government  had  always  hitherto  affected 

10  to  consider  us  only  as  rebellious  subjects,  and  as  the 
Enabling  Act  was  not  yet  passed,  I  did  not  think  it 
could  be  fairly  supposed,  that  his  court  intended  by 
the  general  words,  any  other  Prince  or  State,  to  in- 
clude a  people  whom  they  did  not  allow  to  be  a 

is  state;  and  that  therefore  I  doubted  the  sufficiency 
of  his  power  as  to  treating  with  America,  though  it 
might  be  good  as  to  Spain  and  Holland.  He  replied 
that  he  himself  had  no  doubt  of  the  sufficiency  of  his 
power,  and  was  willing  to  act  upon  it.  I  then  de- 

•«  sired  to  have  a  copy  of  the  power,  which  he  accord- 
ingly promised  me. 

He  would  have  entered  into  conversation  on  the 
topic  of  reconciliation,  but  I  chose  still  to  wave  it, 
till  I  should  find  the  negotiation  more  certainly  com- 

*s  menced;  and  I  showed  him  the  London  paper  con- 
taining the  article  above  transcribed,  that  he  might 
see  how  our  conversations  were  misrepresented,  and 
how  hazardous  it  must  be  for  me  to  make  any  prop- 
ositions of  the  kind  at  present.  He  seemed  to  treat 

3" 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

the  newspaper  lightly,  as  of  no  consequence;  but 
I  observed  that,  before  he  had  finished  the  reading 
of  the  article,  he  turned  to  the  beginning  of  the  paper 
to  see  the  date,  which  made  me  suspect  that  he 
s  doubted  whether  it  might  not  have  taken  its  rise 
from  some  of  his  letters.  .  .  . 

Monday,  the  lyth.  ...  I  find  myself  in  some  per- 
plexity with  regard  to  these  two  negotiators.  Mr. 
Oswald  appears  to  have  been  the  choice  of  Lord 

10  Shelburne,  Mr.  Grenville  that  of  Mr.  Secretary 
Fox.  Lord  Shelburne  is  said  to  have  lately  ac- 
quired much  of  the  King's  confidence.  Mr.  Fox 
calls  himself  the  minister  of  the  people,  and  it  is  cer- 
tain his  popularity  is  lately  much  increased.  Lord 

is  Shelburne  seems  to  wish  to  have  the  management  of 
the  treaty;  Mr.  Fox  seems  to  think  it  in  his  depart- 
ment. I  hear  that  the  understanding  between  these 
ministers  is  not  quite  perfect.  Mr.  Grenville  is 
clever,  and  seems  to  feel  reason  as  readily  as  Mr. 

»o  Oswald,  though  not  so  ready  to  own  it.  Mr.  Os- 
wald appears  quite  plain  and  sincere;  I  sometimes 
a  little  doubt  Mr.  Grenville.  Mr.  Oswald,  an  old 
man,  seems  now  to  have  no  desire  but  that  of  being 
useful  in  doing  good.  Mr.  Grenville,  a  young  man, 

•s  naturally  desirous  of  acquiring  reputation,  seems 
to  aim  at  that  of  being  an  able  negotiator.  Oswald 
does  not  solicit  to  have  any  share  in  the  business 
but,  submitting  the  matter  to  Lord  Shelburne  and 
me,  expresses  only  his  willingness  to  serve,  if  we 


Beginning  of  Peace  Negotiations 

think  he  may  be  useful,  and  is  equally  willing  to 
be  excused,  if  we  judge  there  is  no  occasion  for  him. 
Grenville  seems  to  think  the  whole  negotiation  com- 
mitted to  him,  and  to  have  no  idea  of  Mr.  Oswald's 

s  being  concerned  in  it,  and  is  therefore  willing  to  ex- 
tend the  expressions  in  his  commission,  so  as  to 
make  them  comprehend  America,  and  this  beyond 
what  I  think  they  will  bear.  I  imagine  we  might, 
however,  go  on  very  well  with  either  of  them,  though 

10  I  should  rather  prefer  Oswald ;  but  I  apprehend  diffi- 
culties if  they  are  both  employed,  especially  if  there 
is  any  misunderstanding  between  their  principals.  I 
must,  however,  write  to  Lord  Shelburne,  proposing 
something  in  consequence  of  his  offer  of  vesting  Mr. 

is  Oswald  with  any  commission,  which  that  gentle- 
man and  I  should  think  proper. 

[Franklin  was  taken  sick  the  next  day  and  on  June 
23d  Jay  arrived.     On  June  2yth  Franklin  gave  Oswald 
the  following  letter  concerning  his  appointment   as  a 
20  commissioner]: 

PASSY,  June  27,  1782. 
To  Richard  Oswald: 

SIR:  The  opinion  I  have  of  your  candor,  probity,  and  good  un- 
derstanding, and  good  will  to  both  countries,  made  me  hope  you 
as  would  have  been  vested  with  the  character  of  plenipotentiary  to 
treat  with  those  from  America. 

[He  then  repeats  the  objections  given  above  to  the  power  as- 
signed to  Grenville.] 

I  cannot  but  hope  that  it  is  still  intended  to  vest  you  with  the 
30  character  above  mentioned,  respecting  the  treaty  with  America, 
either  separately  or  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Grenville,  as  to  the 
wisdom  of  your  ministers  may  seem  best.  .  .  . 

313 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

Sunday,  July  ist,  Mr.  Grenville  called  on  me. 
[Here  the  journal  abruptly  ends.] 

2.  Life  of  William,  Earl  of  Shelburne  .  .  .  with  Extracts 
from  his  Papers  and  Correspondence.     By  Lord 
s  Edmond  Fitzmaurice.     Vol.  III. 

p.  196.     [Shelburne  to  Fox.     May  25,  1782.] 
I  am  just  now  writing  to  Mr.  Oswald,  and  instruct 
him  of  course  to  remain  at  Paris  as  Dr.  Franklin 
desires,  till  he  has  orders  to  return.     I  likewise  de- 
10  sire  him  to  communicate  freely  to  Mr.  Grenville 
whatever  may  be  of  use  to  him,  taking  it  for  granted 
that  you  will  instruct  Mr.  Grenville  to  apprize  him 
of  the  power  sent  him,  and  of  such  other  matters 
as  may  be  useful  in  governing  his  intercourse  with 
is  Dr.  Franklin  and  the  other  American  Commission- 
ers, that  it  may  not  be  supposed  in  France  that 
there  is  or  can  be  any  difference  among  us  upon  the 
great  subjects  of  peace  and  war. 

p.  197.  [Shelburne  to  Oswald.  May  25,  1782.] 
»o  ...  It  is  his  Majesty's  pleasure,  that  you  should 
furnish  Mr.  Grenville  any  lights  which  may  occur  to 
you  in  the  course  of  your  communication  with  any 
of  these  gentlemen  [the  American  Commissioners], 
which  may  be  useful  to  him,  in  his  transactions  with 
as  the  French  ministers,  or  those  of  any  of  the  other 
powers  of  Europe  who  may  be  about  to  enter  into 
the  proposed  negotiation,  and  I  must  recommend 
to  you  to  omit  no  opportunity  of  letting  it  be  under- 
stood that  there  subsists  the  strictest  union  in  his 

3H 


Beginning  of  Peace  Negotiations 

Majesty's  Council  upon  the  great  subject  of  peace 
and  war. 

p.   216.     [Oswald  to  Shelburne.     July  n,   1782.] 
I  thank  your  Lordship  for  the  caution  with  re- 

s  spect  to  affairs  under  Mr.  Grenville's  direction 
[Shelburne  had  cautioned  him  not  to  give  any 
offence  to  Grenville].  It  would  have  been  quite 
wrong  in  me  to  meddle  with  it  in  any  shape,  and 
so  cautious  was  I,  that  I  scarce  asked  him  any  ques- 

10  tion  as  to  the  progress  of  his  affairs,  thinking  it 
sufficient  if  by  an  intercourse  with  Dr.  Franklin,  I 
could  help  to  bring  on  a  settlement  with  the  Colo- 
nies. .  .  .  Even  in  this  business,  I  had  scarce  taken 
any  step  since  my  last  coming  over  in  the  end  of 

is  May.  It  was  impossible  to  do  so,  as  Mr.  Franklin 
seemed  to  attend  to  the  expectation  and  issue  of  Mr. 
Grenville's  powers  and  instructions;  which  he  said 
were  imperfect  at  first,  and  not  completed  at  last 
to  his  satisfaction  with  respect  to  them.  So  that 

20  the  Doctor  did  not  incline  to  talk  of  business  to  me, 
and  I  had  nothing  to  write,  even  if  I  had  known  the 
times  when  Mr.  Grenville's  couriers  were  despatched. 
The  situation  was  not  agreeable,  but  I  could  not 
help  it.  And  I  believe  the  Doctor  was  not  pleased, 

as  although  he  said  little  to  me  on  the  subject. 

3.  Letters  from  the  Lansdowne  MSS.,  quoted  in  foot- 
notes to  Sparks's  edition  of  Franklin's  works 
from  the  MS.  copies  lent  to  Mr.  Sparks  by  the 
Marquess  of  Lansdowne.     Vol.  VIII. 
ai 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

p.  323.     [Oswald  to  Shelburne.     June  9,  1782.] 
I  have  nothing  of  business  to  trouble  your  Lord- 
ship with,  only  that  upon  on  one  occasion,  since  my 
last  arrival,  Dr.  Franklin  said  they  (the  Americans) 

s  had  been  totally  left  out  in  Mr.  Grenville's  powers, 
as  they  extended  only  to  treating  with  the  minister 
of  France.  I  told  him  the  deficiency  would,  no 
doubt,  be  supplied  in  due  time,  as  might  be  supposed, 
since,  in  the  mean  while,  they  had  been  assured  by 

10  Mr.  Grenville,  that  his  Majesty  had  agreed  to  grant 
independence  in  ike  first  instance.  The  Doctor  said 
it  was  true,  and  he  was  glad  of  it,  and  supposed  that 
was  all  that  could  be  done,  until  the  act  depending 
in  Parliament  was  passed.  He  then  talked  of 

is  treaties,  and  said,  he  thought  the  best  way  to  come 
at  a  general  peace  was  to  treat  separately  with  each 
party,  and  under  distinct  commissions  to  one  and 
the  same,  or  different  persons.  .  .  .  Mr.  Grenville 
being  very  well  with  the  Doctor,  he  has,  no  doubt, 

20  mentioned  the  same  things  to  him;  yet  I  thought 
it  my  duty  to  communicate  to  him  the  substance  of 
this  conversation. 

p.  345.     [Shelburne  to  Oswald.    June  30,  1782, 
Whitehall.] 

35  ...  You  will  observe  that  we  have  adopted  his 
[Franklin's]  idea  of  the  method  to  come  to  a  general 
pacification  by  treating  separately  with  each  party. 
I  cannot  but  entertain  a  firm  reliance,  that  the 
appointment  of  the  particular  commissioners  will 


Beginning  of  Peace  Negotiations 

be  no  less  satisfactory  to  him.  He  has  very  lately 
warranted  me  to  depend  upon  that  effect  in  the  in- 
stance of  your  nomination.  .  .  . 

4.  Autobiography  of  the  Duke  of  Graf  ton,  p.  318. 

s  "On  this  gentleman's  [Mr.  Oswald's]  return  [May 
1 4th]  it  was  Mr.  Fox's  wish  to  have  placed  the  whole 
negotiation  with  any  of  the  powers  at  war  into  the 
hands  of  Mr.  Grenville;  but  the  Cabinet  decided 
that,  as  the  Doctor  desired  Mr.  Oswald's  return,  to 

10  whom  he  had  spoken  with  openness  and  freedom,  it 
would  be  impolitic  not  to  comply  with  a  request  of 
this  nature.  Besides,  it  was  not  yet  fully  known  in 
what  light  our  offers  to  treat  might  be  received  by 
the  French  ministry.  The  line  of  our  proposals  was 

is  independence  for  America,  and  the  restitution  of 
matters  to  the  state  in  which  they  stood  on  the 
Treaty  of  Paris;  and  these  were  to  be  considered  as 
the  basis  of  the  negotiation." 

5.  Memorials  and  Correspondence  of  Charles  James 
so  Fox.     Edited  by  Lord  John  Russell.     Vol.  I. 

p.  345.     [Cabinet  Minute.1    April  23,  1782.] 
Present — Lord  Chancellor,  Lord  President,  Duke 
of  Richmond,   Marquis  of  Rockingham,   Duke  of 
Grafton,   Lord  Ashburton,   Lord  John  Cavendish, 
as  Lord  Keppel,  General  Conway,  Mr.  Fox,  Lord  Shel- 
burne. 

It  is  humbly  submitted  to  his  Majesty  that  Mr. 
Oswald  shall  return  to  Paris,  with  authority  to  name 
1  These  minutes  are  taken  from  Fox's  papers. 
317 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

Paris  as  the  place,  and  to  settle  with  Dr.  Franklin 
the  most  convenient  time  for  setting  on  foot  a 
negotiation  for  a  general  peace,  and  to  represent 
to  him  that  the  principal  points  in  contemplation 
s  are — The  allowance  of  independence  to  America 
upon  Great  Britain's  being  restored  to  the  situation 
she  was  placed  in  by  the  treaty  of  1763,  and  that 
Mr.  Fox  shall  submit  to  the  consideration  of  the 
King  a  proper  person  to  make  a  similar  communica- 
10  tion  to  Mons.  de  Vergennes. 

p.  351.     [Cabinet  Minute.     May  18,  1782.] 
Present — Lord  Chancellor,  Lord  President,  Duke 
of  Richmond,   Lord  Rockingham,   Lord  Shelburne, 
Lord  John  Cavendish,  Lord  Keppel,  Lord  Ashburton, 
is  General  Conway,  Mr.  Fox. 

It  is  humbly  submitted  to  your  Majesty,  that 
your  Majesty  will  be  pleased  to  direct  Mr.  Fox  to 
order  full  powers  to  be  given  to  Mr.  Grenville  to 
treat  and  conclude  at  Paris,  and  also  to  direct  Mr. 
20  Fox  to  instruct  Mr.  Grenville  to  make  propositions 
of  peace  to  the  belligerent  powers  upon  the  basis 
of  independence  to  the  thirteen  colonies  in  North 
America,  and  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris ;  and  in  case  of 
such  proposition  not  being  accepted,  to  call  upon 
as  Monsieur  de  Vergennes  to  make  some  proposition 
on  his  part,  which  Mr.  Grenville  will,  of  course,  re- 
port to  Mr.  Fox. 

P-  357-     [Cabinet  Minute.     May  23,  1782.] 
Present — Lord  Chancellor,  Lord  Privy  Seal,  Lord 
318 


Beginning  of  Peace  Negotiations 

Rockingham,  Lord  Shelburne,  Lord  John  Cavendish, 
Lord  Keppel,  Lord  Ashburton,  General  Conway, 
Mr.  Fox. 

It  is  humbly  recommended  to  your  Majesty  to 

s  direct  Mr.  Fox  to  instruct  Mr.  Grenville  to  propose 

the  independency  of  America  in  the  first  instance, 

instead  of  making  it  a  condition  of  a  general  treaty. 

P-  359-     [Grenville  to  Fox.     Paris,  June  4,  1782.] 

.  .  .  Recollect  always  that  this  letter  is  written  in 

10  that  confidence,  and  I  am  sure  I  never  can  repent 
of  having  sent  it.  You  will  easily  see  from  the 
tenor  of  the  correspondence  we  have  hitherto  had, 
that  what  little  use  I  could  be  of  to  you  here,  ap- 
peared to  me  to  be  in  the  communication  that  I  had 

is  with  Franklin.  I  considered  the  rest  of  the  negotia- 
tion as  dependent  upon  that,  and  the  only  possible 
immediate  advantages  which  were  to  be  expected, 
seemed  to  me  to  rest  in  the  jealousy  which  the  French 
court  would  entertain  of  not  being  thoroughly  sup- 

20  ported  in  everything  by  America.  The  degree  of 
confidence  which  Franklin  seemed  inclined  to  place 
in  me,  and  which  he  expressed  to  me,  more  than 
once,  in  the  strongest  terms,  very  much  favoured  this 
idea,  and  encouraged  me  in  wishing  to  learn  from 

as  him  what  might  be,  in  future,  ground  for  a  partial 
connection  between  England  and  America;  I  say  in 
future,  because  I  have  never  hitherto  much  believed 
in  any  treaty  of  the  year  1782,  and  my  expectation, 
even  from  the  strongest  of  Franklin's  expressions, 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

was  not  of  an  immediate  turn  in  our  favour,  or  any 
positive  advantage  from  the  Commissioners  in  Eu- 
rope, till  the  people  of  America  should  cry  out  to 
them,  from  seeing  that  England  was  meeting  their 

s  wishes.  It  was  in  this  light,  too,  that  I  saw  room  to 
hope  for  some  good  effects  from  a  voluntary  offer  of 
unconditional  independence  to  America:  a  chance 
which  looked  the  more  tempting,  as  I  own  I  con- 
sidered the  sacrifice  as  but  a  small  one,  and  such  as, 

10  had  I  been  an  American,  I  had  thought  myself  little 
obliged  to  Great  Britain  in  this  moment  for  grant- 
ing, except  from  an  idea  that,  if  it  was  an  article  of 
treaty,  it  would  have  been  as  much  given  by  France 
as  by  England. 

is  I  repeat  this  only  to  remind  you  that,  from  these 
considerations,  the  whole  of  my  attention  has  been 
given  to  Franklin,  and  that  I  should  have  con- 
sidered myself  as  losing  my  time  here,  if  it  had  not 
been  directed  to  that  subject.  I  believe  I  told  you 

ao  in  my  last  that  I  had  very  sanguine  expectations  of 
Franklin's  being  inclined  to  speak  out  when  I  should 
see  him  next;  indeed,  he  expressly  told  me  that  he 
would  think  over  all  the  points  likely  to  establish 
a  solid  reconciliation  between  England  and  America, 

35  and  that  he  would  write  his  mind  upon  them,  in 
order  that  we  might  examine  them  together  more  in 
order,  confiding,  as  he  said,  in  me,  that  I  would  not 
state  them  as  propositions  from  him,  but  as  being 
my  own  ideas  of  what  would  be  useful  to  both 

320 


Beginning  of  Peace  Negotiations 

countries.  (I  interrupt  myself  here,  to  remind  you 
of  the  obligation  I  must  put  you  under  not  to  men- 
tion this.)  For  this  very  interesting  communica- 
tion, which  I  had  long  laboured  to  get,  he  fixed  the 
s  fourth  day,  which  was  last  Saturday  [June  ist];  but 
on  Friday  [May  3ist]  morning  Mr.  Oswald  came,  and 
having  given  me  your  letters,  he  went  immediately 
to  Franklin,  to  carry  some  to  him.  I  kept  my  ap- 
pointment at  Passy  the  next  morning,  and  in  order 

i»  to  give  Franklin  the  greatest  confidence,  at  the  same 
time,  too,  not  knowing  how  much  Mr.  Oswald  might 
have  told  him,  I  began  with  saying  that,  though 
under  the  difficulty  which  M.  de  Vergennes  and  he 
himself  had  made  to  my  full  power,  it  was  not  the 

is  moment  as  a  politician,  perhaps,  to  make  further 
explanations  till  that  difficulty  should  be  relieved; 
yet  to  show  him  the  confidence  I  put  in  him,  I  would 
begin  by  telling  him  that  I  was  authorized  to  offer 
the  independence  in  the  first  instance,  instead  of 

ao  making  it  an  article  of  general  treaty.  He  expressed 
great  satisfaction  at  this,  especially,  he  said,  because, 
by  having  done  otherwise,  we  should  have  seemed  to 
have  considered  America,  as  in  the  same  degree  of 
connection  with  France,  which  she  had  been  under 

as  with  us,  whereas  America  wished  to  be  considered 
as  a  power  free  and  clear  to  all  the  world;  but  when 
I  came  to  lead  the  discourse  to  the  subject  which  he 
had  promised  four  days  before,  I  was  a  good  deal 
mortified  to  find  him  put  it  off  altogether  till  he 

321 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

should  be  more  ready;  and,  notwithstanding  my  re- 
minding him  of  his  promise,  he  only  answered  that 
it  should  be  in  some  days.  What  passed  between 
Mr.  Oswald  and  me  will  explain  to  you  the  reason 
s  of  this  disappointment.  Mr.  Oswald  told  me  that 
Lord  Shelburne  had  proposed  to  him,  when  last  in 
England,  to  take  a  commission  to  treat  with  the  Ameri- 
can ministers ;  that  upon  his  mentioning  it  to  Frank- 
lin now,  it  seemed  perfectly  agreeable  to  him,  and 

10  even  to  be  what  he  had  very  much  wished,  Mr.  Os- 
wald adding  that  he  wished  only  to  assist  the  busi- 
ness, and  had  no  other  view;  he  mixed  with  this  a 
few  regrets  that  there  should  be  any  difference  be- 
tween the  two  offices,  and  when  I  asked  upon  what 

is  subject,  he  said  owing  to  the  Rockingham  party 
being  too  ready  to  give  up  everything.  You  will 
observe  though — for  it  is  on  that  account  that  I  give 
you  this  narrative — that  this  intended  appointment 
has  effectually  stopped  Franklin's  mouth  to  me,  and 

20  that  when  he  is  told  that  Mr.  Oswald  is  to  be  the  com- 
missioner to  treat  with  him,  it  is  but  natural  that  he 
should  reserve  his  confidence  for  the  quarter  so  point- 
ed out  to  him;  nor  does  this  secret  seem  only  known 
to  Franklin,  as  Lafayette  said  laughingly  yesterday, 

as  that  he  had  just  left  Lord  Shelburne' s  ambassador  at 
Passy.  Indeed,  this  is  not  the  first  moment  of  a 
separate  negotiation,  for  Mr.  Oswald,  suspecting 
by  something  that  I  dropped  that  Franklin  had 
talked  to  me  about  Canada  (though,  by  the  by,  he 

322 


Beginning  of  Peace  Negotiations 

never  had),  told  me  this  circumstance  as  follows: — 
When  he  went  to  England  the  last  time  but  one,  he 
carried  with  him  a  paper  intrusted  to  him  by  Frank- 
lin under  condition  that  it  should  be  shown  only  to 

s  Lord  Shelburne  and  returned  into  his  own  hands  at 
Passy.  This  paper,  under  the  title  of  'Notes  of  a 
Conversation,'  contained  an  idea  of  Canada  being 
spontaneously  ceded  by  England  to  the  thirteen 
provinces,  in  order  that  Congress  might  sell  the  un- 

10  appropriated  lands  and  make  a  fund  thereby,  in 
order  to  compensate  the  damages  done  by  the  Eng- 
lish army,  and  even  those,  too,  sustained  by  the 
royalists.  This  paper,  given  with  many  precautions 
for  fear  of  its  being  known  to  the  French  court,  to 

is  whom  it  was  supposed  not  to  be  agreeable,  Mr.  Os- 
wald showed  to  Lord  Shelburne,  who,  after  keeping 
it  a  day,  as  Mr.  Oswald  supposes,  to  show  to  the 
King,  returned  it  to  him,  and  it  was  by  him  brought 
back  to  Franklin.  I  say  nothing  to  the  proposition 

20  itself,  to  the  impolicy  of  bringing  a  strange  neighbor- 
hood to  the  Newfoundland  fishery,  or  to  the  little 
reason  that  England  would  naturally  see,  in  having 
lost  thirteen  provinces,  to  give  away  a  fourteenth; 
but  I  mention  it  to  show  you  an  early  trace  of  sepa- 

as  rate  negotiation  which  perhaps  you  did  not  before 
know. 

Under  these  circumstances,  I  felt  very  much  tempt- 
ed to  go  over  and  explain  them  to  you  viva  voce, 
rather  than  by  letter,  and  I  must  say,  with  the 

323 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

farther  intention  of  suggesting  to  you  the  only  idea 
that  seems  likely  to  answer  your  purpose,  and  it  is 
this:  the  Spanish  Ambassador  will,  in  a  day  or  two, 
have  the  powers  from  his  court ;  the  Americans  are 

s  here,  so  are  the  French;  why  should  you  not,  then, 
consider  this  as  a  Congress  in  full  form,  and  send 
here  a  person  of  rank,  such  as  Lord  Fitzwilliam  (if 
he  would  come),  so  as  to  have  the  whole  negotiation 
in  the  hands  of  one  person?  You  would  by  that 

»o  means  recover  within  your  compass  the  essential 
part,  which  is  now  out  of  it;  nor  do  I  see  how  Lord 
Shelburne  could  object  to  such  an  appointment, 
which  would,  in  every  respect,  much  facilitate  the 
business.  ...  I  must  entreat  you  very  earnestly  to 

is  consider  this,  to  see  the  impossibility  of  my  assist- 
ing you  under  this  contrariety;  to  see  how  much  the 
business  itself  will  suffer,  if  carried  on  with  the 
jealousy  of  these  clashing  interests;  and  to  see 
whether  it  may  not  all  be  prevented  by  some  single 

30  appointment  in  high  rank,  as  that  I  mentioned.  .  .  . 
Once  more  I  tell  you,  I  cannot  fight  a  daily  battle 
with  Mr.  Oswald  and  his  secretary;  it  would  be 
neither  for  the  advantage  of  the  business,  for  your 
interest  or  your  credit  or  mine,  and  even  if  it  was, 

as  I  could  not  do  it. 

Concluding,  then,  the  American  business  as  out 
of  the  question,  which  personally  I  cannot  be  sorry 
for,  you  surely  have  but  one  of  two  things  to  do; 
either  to  adopt  the  proposition  of  a  new  dignified 

324 


Beginning  of  Peace  Negotiations 

Peer's  appointment,  which,  being  single,  may  bring 
back  the  business  to  you  by  comprehending  it  all  in 
one;  or  Lord  Shelburne  must  have  his  minister  here, 
and  Mr.  Fox  his;  by  doing  which,  Mr.  Fox  will  be 

s  pretty  near  as  much  out  of  the  secret — at  least,,  of 
what  is  most  essential — as  if  he  had  nobody  here,  and 
the  only  real  gainers  by  it  will  be  the  other  minis- 
ters, who  cannot  fail  to  profit  of  such  a  jumble.  .  .  . 
Adieu.     Let  Lord  Fitzwilliam  answer  my  letter. 

»  [Tnos.  GRENVILLE.] 

p.  366.     [Fox  to  Grenville.    St.  James's,  June  10, 
1782.] 

I  received  late  the  night  before  last  your  interest- 
ing letter  of  the  4th,  and  you  may  easily  conceive 

»s  am  not  a  little  embarrassed  by  its  contents.  In  the 
first  place,  it  was  not  possible  to  comply  with  your 
injunction  of  perfect  secrecy  in  a  case  where  steps 
of  such  importance  are  necessary  to  be  taken,  and 
therefore  I  have  taken  upon  me  (for  which  I  must 

ao  trust  to  your  friendship  to  excuse  me)  to  show  your 
letter  to  Lord  Rockingham,  the  Duke  of  Richmond, 
and  Lord  John,  who  are  all  as  full  of  indignation  at 
its  contents  as  one  might  reasonably  expect  honest 
men  to  be.  We  are  now  perfectly  resolved  to  come  to 

as  an  explanation  upon  the  business,  if  it  is  possible 
so  to  do  without  betraying  any  confidence  reposed 
in  me  by  you  or  in  you  by  others.  The  two  prin- 
cipal points  which  occur  are  the  paper  relative  to 
Canada,  of  which  I  had  never  heard  till  I  received 

325 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

your  letter,  and  the  intended  investment  of  Mr. 
Oswald  with  full  powers,  which  was  certainly  meant 
for  the  purpose  of  diverting  Franklin's  confidence 
from  you  into  another  channel.  With  these  two 

s  points  we  wish  to  charge  Shelburne  directly;  but 
pressing  as  the  thing  is,  and  interesting  as  it  is  both 
to  our  situations  and  to  the  affairs  of  the  public, 
which  I  fear  are  irretrievably  injured  by  this  in- 
trigue, and  which  must  be  ruined  if  it  is  suffered  to 

10  go  on,  we  are  resolved  not  to  stir  a  step  till  we  hear 
again  from  you,  and  know  precisely  how  far  we  are 
at  liberty  to  make  use  of  what  you  have  discovered. 
If  this  matter  should  produce  a  rupture,  and  con- 
sequently become  more  or  less  the  subject  of  public 

is  discussion,  I  am  sensible  the  Canada  paper  cannot 
be  mentioned  by  name;  but  might  it  not  be  said 
that  we  had  discovered  that  Shelburne  had  withheld 
from  our  knowledge  matters  of  importance  to  the 
negotiation?  And,  with  respect  to  the  other  point, 

20  might  it  not  be  said,  without  betraying  anybody, 
that  while  the  King  had  one  avowed  and  authorized 
minister  at  Paris,  measures  were  taken  for  lessening 
his  credit,  and  for  obstructing  his  inquiries,  by  an- 
nouncing a  new  intended  commission,  of  which  the 

as  Cabinet  here  had  never  been  apprized?  Do,  pray, 
my  dear  Grenville,  consider  the  incredible  impor- 
tance of  this  business  in  every  view,  and  write 
me  word  precisely  how  far  you  can  authorize  us  to 
make  use  of  your  intelligence.  It  is  more  than  pos- 

326 


Beginning  of  Peace  Negotiations 

sible  that  before  this  reaches  you,  many  other  cir- 
cumstances may  have  occurred  which  may  afford 
further  proofs  of  this  duplicity  of  conduct,  and  if 
they  have,  I  am  sure  they  will  not  have  escaped 

s  your  observation.  If  this  should  be  the  case,  you 
will  see  the  necessity  of  acquainting  me  with  them 
as  soon  as  possible.  You  see  what  is  our  object,  and 
you  can  easily  judge  what  sort  of  evidence  will  be 
most  useful  to  us.  When  the  object  is  attained, 

10  that  is,  when  the  duplicity  is  proved,  to  what  con- 
sequences we  ought  to  drive,  whether  to  an  abso- 
lute rupture,  or  merely  to  the  recall  of  Oswald  and 
the  simplification  of  this  negotiation,  is  a  point  that 
may  be  afterwards  considered.  I  own  I  incline  to  the 

is  more  decisive  measure,  and  so,  I  think,  do  those  with 
whom  I  must  act  in  concert.  I  am  very  happy  in- 
deed that  you  did  not  come  yourself;  the  mischiefs 
that  would  have  happened  from  it  to  our  affairs 
are  incredible,  and  I  must  beg  of  you,  nay,  entreat 

20  and  conjure  you,  not  to  think  of  taking  any  pre- 
cipitate step  of  this  nature.  As  to  the  idea  of  re- 
placing you  with  Lord  Fitzwilliam,  not  only  it  would 
be  very  objectionable  on  account  of  the  mistaken 
notion  it  would  convey  of  things  being  much  riper 

<s  than  they  are;  but  it  would,  as  I  conceive,  be  no 
remedy  to  the  evil.  Whether  the  King's  minister 
at  Paris  be  an  Ambassador  Extraordinary,  or  a 
Minister  Plenipotentiary,  can  make  no  difference  as 
to  the  question.  The  clandestine  manner  of  carry- 

327 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

ing  on  a  separate  negotiation,  which  we  complain  of, 
would  be  equally  practicable  and  equally  blameable 
if  Lord  Fitzwilliam  was  Ambassador,  as  it  is  now  that 
Mr.  Grenville  is  Plenipotentiary.  I  must,  therefore, 
s  again  entreat  you,  as  a  matter  of  personal  kindness 
to  me,  to  remain  a  little  longer  at  Paris ;  if  you  were 
to  leave  it,  all  sorts  of  suspicion  would  be  raised. 
It  is  of  infinite  consequence  that  we  should  have  it 
to  say  that  we  have  done  all  in  our  power  to  make 
10  peace,  not  only  with  regard  to  what  may  be  ex- 
pected from  America,  but  from  Europe.  ...  In  this 
instance  the  mischief  done  by  intercepting,  as  it 
were,  the  very  useful  information  we  expected 
through  you  from  Franklin,  is,  I  fear,  in  a  great  de- 
is  gree  irremediable;  but  it  is  our  business,  and  indeed 
our  duty,  to  prevent  such  things  for  the  future.  .  .  . 


PROBLEM  VIII 
VIII. — The  Parliament  Act  of  1911 


The  Parliament  Act  of  1911 


I.    THE   HISTORICAL    SETTING    OF    THE    PROBLEM 

WHEN  in  1649  the  Commons  put  an  end  to  the 
House  of  Lords  they  met  little  opposition.  For 
eleven  years  the  people  of  England  got  along  without  the 
peers,  although  not  for  all  that  time  without  a  second  cham- 
ber. When  the  Lords  came  back  at  the  Restoration  it  was, 
as  they  realized,  to  a  position  of  less  influence.  ' '  The  initia- 
tive permanently  transferred  from  one  House  to  the  other, 
the  eyes  of  the  nation  permanently  fixed  upon  the  delib- 
erations of  the  House  of  Commons  instead  of  those  of 
the  Lords,  these  were  the  results  of  the  civil  war  and  the 
movement  which  led  up  to  it."  Charles  II.  regarded  the 
Upper  House  as  "  of  little  power  to  do  him  good  or  harm." 
But  the  wings  of  the  Lords  were  by  no  means  clipped. 
The  Revolution  of  1689  which  gave  to  certain  Whig  fami- 
lies a  long  dominance  in  English  politics  rendered  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Upper  House  secure  for  more  than  a  hun- 
dred years.  Only  once  in  the  eighteenth  century  was  its 
hand  forced.  That  was  in  1711,  when  a  Tory  ministry, 
unable  to  carry  its  peace  proposals  against  a  Whig  ma- 
jority in  the  Lords,  induced  the  Queen  to  call  up  three 
eldest  sons  to  the  Lords;1  and  to  create  nine  new  peer- 

1 1.  e.,  to  give  immediate  titles  to  three  heirs  apparent  and  so  gain 
additional  votes  without  creating  additional  peerages. 
22  33I 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

ages,  and  so  to  give  the  Tories  the  majority  they  needed. 
In  1719  the  Whigs,  to  stop  such  creations,  proposed  that 
the  Lords  could  never  be  increased  by  more  than  six  be- 
yond the  then  membership.  The  measure  was  rejected 
by  the  Commons.  The  incident  of  1711,  coupled  with 
the  outcome  in  1719,  meant  that  a  way  had  been  hit  upon 
to  override  the  veto  of  the  higher  chamber ;  the  precedent, 
although  not  used  again  for  a  long  time,  was  not  to  be 
forgotten.  When  the  Lords  in  the  struggle  of  1830-32 
stood  out  against  the  Reform  Bill,  it  was  only  the  threat  of 
the  creation  of  a  sufficient  number  of  peers  that  availed  to 
pass  it.  The  result  of  that  struggle  meant  more  than  that 
a  method  of  curbing  the  Upper  House  was  hardening 
into  usage.  It  was  a  warning  to  the  Lords  to  go  softly 
all  their  days.  It  meant  that  the  Upper  House,  if  it  were 
to  retain  any  influence,  must  be  very  chary  in  rejecting 
measures  of  the  Commons,  must  never  reject  them,  indeed, 
unless  it  was  quite  sure  of  popular  support;  it  meant, 
furthermore,  that  the  peers  would  no  longer  be  able  to 
force  a  Ministry,  intrenched  behind  a  Commons  ma- 
jority, to  resign.  The  Lords  had  forced  a  Cabinet  out 
once  too  often.1 

What  the  Lords  still  had  was  the  veto  and  the  final 
right  to  decide  when  its  use  was  demanded.  This  the 
Liberals  and  Radicals  knew  only  too  well  and  wished,  no 
more  than  the  Conservatives,  to  go  through  another 
struggle.  A  writer  in  the  Whig  Edinburgh  Review  for 

1  When  in  1839  the  Lords  passed  a  motion  for  an  inquiry  into 
the  affairs  of  Ireland,  and  when  in  1850  they  passed  an  adverse 
vote  upon  the  Don  Pacifico  incident,  they  produced  no  change  of 
Cabinet.  The  dissolution  which  followed  in  time  the  rejection  of 
Gladstone's  three  resolutions  on  the  Irish  Church  was  not  really 
an  exception,  for  the  dissolution  had  been  determined  upon  by  Dis- 
raeli as  soon  as  Gladstone's  resolutions  passed  the  Commons. 

332 


The  Parliament  Act  of  1911 

1835  proposed  that  in  cases  of  deadlock  there  should  be 
a  conference  of  the  two  Houses.  James  Mill,  writing  in 
the  next  year  in  the  London  Review,  a  short-lived  organ  of 
radicalism,  projected  a  plan  which  was  almost  exactly 
that  to  be  followed  seventy-five  years  later.  "Let  it  be 
enacted,"  he  wrote,  "that  if  a  bill  which  has  been  passed 
by  the  House  of  Commons  and  thrown  out  by  the  House 
of  Lords  is  renewed  ...  in  the  next  session  of  Parliament 
and  passed,  but  again  thrown  out  by  the  House  of  Lords, 
it  shall,  if  passed  a  third  time  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
be  law  without  being  sent  again  to  the  Lords."  And 
A.  J.  Roebuck,  who  in  his  Pamphlets  for  the  People  was 
hammering  away  at  the  Upper  House,  gave  written 
notice  in  the  Commons  that  he  would  ask  for  leave  to 
introduce  a  bill  proposing  that  the  Lords  should  have 
merely  a  suspensive  veto — i.e.,  that  the  Commons  might, 
after  a  bill  had  once  been  rejected  by  the  Lords,  enact 
it  into  law.  The  proposition  never  reached  the  debating 
stage. 

Quite  different  from  the  plans  of  the  Radicals  for  limit- 
ing the  veto  of  the  Lords  were  the  suggestions  for  reform- 
ing the  Upper  House.  When  the  Government  in  1856 
proposed  to  add  to  the  judicial  talent  in  the  Lords  by 
giving  a  life-peerage  to  a  well-known  judge,  it  may  have 
had  nothing  more  in  mind  than  it  professed  to  have. 
The  move  was  opposed  on  the  ground  that  it  was  to  re- 
vive a  long-disused  precedent,  and  that  it  would  allow 
whatever  government  was  in  power  a  chance  to  swamp 
the  Upper  House  with  new  members.  In  1869  Lord 
Russell  brought  in  a  measure  authorizing  the  Crown  to 
create  life-peerages,  not  more  than  twenty-eight  of  them, 
selected  from  the  courts,  from  the  fields  of  literature, 
science,  and  art,  from  the  Commons,  and  from  those  who 
had  held  office  under  the  Crown.  He  hoped  thereby  to 

333 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

improve  the  authority  of  the  House  and  to  raise  the 
character  of  its  debates.  This  was  to  do  just  what  the 
Radicals  did  not  wish  done.  Less  authority  was  their 
wish  for  the  Lords,  not  more.  And  the  reform  seemed 
to  them  exceedingly  diluted.  "Childish  tinkering"  was 
what  John  Bright  called  it.  As  for  the  Lords  themselves 
— and  there  were  more  of  them,  as  it  turned  out — they 
feared  to  tamper  with  the  question,  lest  they  should  rouse 
sleeping  dogs. 

In  1883  the  possibility  of  something  better  than  reform, 
of  curtailing  the  veto  of  the  Lords,  was  raised  by  John 
Bright,  whose  scheme  harked  back,  whether  he  knew  it 
or  not,  to  the  plans  of  the  Radicals  in  the  thirties.  In  a 
speech  delivered  in  October  of  that  year,  he  proposed  that 
the  Upper  House  should  be  allowed  but  one  veto,  and  that 
if  a  bill  were  repassed  by  the  Commons  after  a  rejection 
by  the  peers,  it  should  become  law.  The  Lords  were, 
however,  to  be  allowed  to  take  up  the  measure  a  second 
time  and  to  offer  amendments.  But  if  these  amendments 
were  put  aside  by  the  Commons  the  Lords  should  be 
bound  to  accept  the  bill.  In  the  next  year  Lord  Rose- 
bery  moved  in  the  Lords  that  "a  select  committee  be 
appointed  to  consider  the  best  means  of  promoting  the 
efficiency  of  this  House."  "We  represent  too  much  one 
class,"  he  said,  quite  plainly;  "we  see  one  side  of  the  shield 
too  much."  "  It  was  too  late  for  the  Senate  to  deliberate 
when  the  Gaul  was  in  their  midst ;  it  was  too  late  for  the 
House  of  Commons  to  discuss  abstract  questions  when 
Cromwell  was  at  the  table.  It  will  be  too  late  to  move 
for  any  select  committee  when  the  voice  which  calls  for 
radical  reform  or  abolition  becomes  loud  and  universal. 
.  .  .  But  what  is  heard  now  is  not  a  demand  for  abolition. 
A  demand  for  improvement,"  he  declared,  "makes  itself 
heard  in  every  public  speech  ...  it  makes  itself  heard  in 

334 


The  Parliament  Act  of  1911 

every  magazine  ...  it  makes  itself  heard  in  all  the  news- 
papers. ...  It  can  be  no  secret  .  .  .  that  the  more  ardent 
spirits  of  the  party  to  which  I  belong  do  not  wish  for  the 
reform  of  the  House  of  Lords.  They  wish  for  its  aboli- 
tion." In  his  reply  the  Marquess  of  Salisbury  indicated 
his  belief  that  Lord  Rosebery's  dissatisfaction  with  the 
House  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  majority  in  the  House 
happened  to  be  conservative,  a  phenomenon  which  the 
Marquess  believed  to  be  temporary,  at  all  events,  in  its 
present  degree.  No  one  who  realized  the  impulse  toward 
democracy  which  followed  the  wide  extension  of  the  fran- 
chise could  have  believed  that  the  Lords  were  to  be  any- 
thing more  than  the  bulwark  of  the  Conservative  party, 
its  ever-present  help  in  time  of  trouble.  Probably  few 
of  their  number  were  so  short-sighted  as  the  Marquess, 
but  they  were  satisfied  with  a  situation  which  offered  to 
the  forces  of  radicalism  a  permanent  handicap.  Perhaps 
they  could  hold  back  the  tide.  At  any  rate,  they  voted 
down  Lord  Rosebery's  resolution. 

In  the  same  year  they  did,  indeed,  accept  the  third 
Reform  Bill,  although  not  without  having  first  threat- 
ened to  throw  it  out.  The  threat  was  met  by  Gladstone 
with  another.  He  sent  word  to  the  Queen  that  he  would 
not,  as  a  result  of  the  Lords'  attitude,  dissolve  Parliament 
and  fight  out  again  the  issue  of  the  franchise.  If  he  had 
to  dissolve,  it  would  be  upon  the  question  of  an  "organic 
change  in  the  House  of  Lords."  "There  is,  perhaps,  the 
alternative  of  advising  a  large  creation  of  peers;  but  to 
this  there  are  great  objections,  even  if  the  Queen  were 
willing."  The  method  of  curbing  the  peers  which  had 
been  practised  in  1711  and  1832  was  less  feasible  when 
three  or  four  hundred  peers  would  have  to  be  created  to 
outweigh  the  hostile  majority. 

In  1888  the  question  of  the  Lords  received  attention  in 
335 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

both  Houses.  In  the  Commons  Mr.  Labouchere  struck 
at  the  root  of  the  tree  by  moving  that  it  was  contrary  to 
the  true  principles  of  representative  government  that  any 
person  should  be  a  member  of  the  legislature  by  right  of 
birth.  Mr.  Curzon  proposed  to  strengthen  the  Upper 
House,  to  place  in  it  leaders  of  dissenting  churches,  im- 
portant colonials,  and  men  distinguished  in  the  civil, 
military,  and  naval  services.  Mr.  John  Morley  regarded 
the  Lords  as  a  rickety  parapet  on  the  edge  of  a  precipice 
which  was  more  dangerous  than  no  parapet  at  all.  Mr. 
Labouchere's  motion  was  easily  defeated,  but  the  fact  that 
it  received  the  support  of  the  bulk  of  the  Liberal  party  in 
the  Commons  was  significant.  Lord  Rosebery's  motion 
in  the  Lords  for  a  select  committee  to  inquire  into  the 
Constitution  of  the  Upper  House,  though  less  radical 
than  Mr.  Labouchere's  motion,  showed  the  drift  of  Lib- 
eral thinking,  as  well  as  Lord  Rosebery's  perseverance. 
The  House,  he  urged,  was  becoming  so  large  that  the  con- 
stitutional method  of  overcoming  its  resistance,  the  crea- 
tion of  peers,  was  less  possible.  The  Commons  rested  on 
six  million  electors,  the  Lords  on  an  hereditary  principle, 
which  had  become  dominant  only  since  the  sixteenth 
century.  The  Lords  had  been  since  1832  the  bulwark  of 
one  party.  "This  House  which  strains  at  a  Liberal  gnat 
will  swallow  a  Conservative  camel."  Catholic  Emancipa- 
tion, the  repeal  of  the  Corn  Laws,  and  the  Franchise  Bill 
of  1866  had  been  accepted  by  the  Lords  only  because 
they  came  from  the  Conservative  party.  In  1884  Lord 
Rosebery  had  offered  no  constructive  scheme.  In  1888 
he  had  a  fairly  definite  plan.  Let  the  Upper  House  be  a 
representative  body;  let  it  be  elected  by  the  whole  body 
of  the  Lords;  by  other  groups  as  well,  by  the  county 
boards,  or  by  the  larger  municipalities,  or  by  the  House 
of  Commons;  let  it  have  among  its  membership  agents 

336 


The  Parliament  Act  of  1911 

of  the  colonies.  As  for  cases  of  disagreement  between  the 
Houses,  let  there  be  a  conference  and  a  decision  by  joint 
vote. 1  This  was  carrying  matters  too  far  for  the  Lords,  who 
rejected  the  motion  by  97  votes  to  50.  When  he  refused 
to  follow  Lord  Rosebery,  the  Marquess  of  Salisbury  had 
indicated  that  he  was  willing  to  support  the  principle  of 
life-peerages.  He  now  introduced  a  measure  for  giving 
such  peerages  to  men  of  eminence.  Not  more  than  five 
were  to  be  granted  in  a  single  year,  nor  were  there  to  be 
more  than  fifty  at  a  time.  Along  with  this  measure,  which 
would  have  been  deemed  hopelessly  radical  in  1869,  the 
Prime  Minister  brought  in  a  bill  to  enable  the  sovereign 
to  deprive  any  peer  of  his  right  to  receive  the  writ  of 
summons,  a  measure  which  became  known  as  the  Black 
Sheep  Bill.  Both  proposals  were  withdrawn  by  the 
Marquess  when  he  found  that  the  leader  of  the  Opposi- 
tion, Mr.  Gladstone,  would  fight  any  such  partial  re- 
forms.2 

Mr.  Gladstone  had  long  been  brooding  over  the  powers 
of  the  higher  chamber.  The  defeat  of  the  second  Home 
Rule  Bill  by  the  Lords  in  1893  hardened  his  heart 
against  them.  Upon  the  issue  of  the  Upper  House 
he  was  ready  to  go  to  the  country,  but  when  some 
of  his  Cabinet  held  back,  he  let  the  scheme  go  by 
the  board.  His  hesitation  was  probably  wiser  than  dar- 
ing would  have  been. 

Why  had  the  Liberal  party  been  so  slow  to  take  up  and 
push  a  cause  that  deeply  concerned  it?  The  student  who 
has  followed  the  course  of  events  can  readily  give  the 
answer.  It  had  been  the  peculiar  combination  of  elements 

1  In  the  same  year  Lord  Dunraven  introduced  a  plan  of  some- 
what similar  character. 

1  In  the  next  year  Lord  Carnarvon  tried  unsuccessfully  to  revive 
the  Black  Sheep  Bill. 

337 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

in  the  party  which  numbed  the  will.  Eager  radicals  who 
wished  to  use  the  spur,  and  slow,  steady-going  Whigs  who 
believed  in  safety  first,  were  ill-fitted  for  riding  together, 
not  only  because  they  liked  different  paces,  but  because, 
however  little  they  recognized  it,  they  really  wished  to 
go  in  opposite  directions.  Radicals  hoped  to  curtail  the 
Upper  House,  or  perhaps  to  abolish  it.  They  would  have 
welcomed  the  Gilbertian  fancy  of  Lords  transformed  into 
fairies.  Whigs,  on  the  other  hand — and  Whigs  up  to 
nearly  the  end  of  the  century,  and  in  some  respects  indeed 
up  to  1906,  were  the  bone  and  sinew  of  the  Liberal  party 
— wished  to  make  over  the  House  of  Lords.  Few  of  them, 
indeed,  differed  in  this  respect  much  from  the  old-line 
Tories.  They  were  not  alert  to  realize  that  a  made-over 
House  was  really  a  more  powerful  one.  It  was  this  real 
division  in  Liberal  councils  that  so  long  retarded  a  defi- 
nite policy. 

The  years  that  followed  1893  were  for  the  Liberal  party 
lean  ones,  and  schemes  for  curtailing  the  Lords  were  al- 
lowed to  lapse.  Not  until  the  great  Liberal  victory  of 
1906  did  the  question  again  take  the  stage.  By  this  time 
economic  urgency  was  behind  political  aspiration.  Social- 
democratic  reform  on  a  large  scale  had  become  more  than 
the  hope  of  Fabian  idealists  or  statistical  slum- workers. 
It  was  the  demand  of  a  great  working  class,  underpaid,  ill 
provided,  and  underfed.  That  class  now  had  votes  and 
was  going  to  see  to  it  that  their  rulers  were  not  held 
back  by  a  political  wire  fence  from  the  rich  fields  of 
taxation  possibilities  which  the  great  holdings  of  the 
landed  and  mercantile  classes  afforded.  How  they  saw 
to  it,  how  the  Liberal  party  was  at  length  forced  to  take 
up  the  question  of  the  Lords,  is  the  theme  of  the  great 
play  that  begins  its  rapid  action  in  1906  and  closes  after 
a  stormy  fifth  act  with  a  clean  conclusion  in  1911.  The 

338 


The  Parliament  Act  of  1911 

party  was  pledged,  when  it  came  into  power,  to  deal  with 
education.  The  Education  Bill  of  1906,  which  was  de- 
signed to  render  state-supported  education  less  sectarian, 
had  all  the  weight  of  non-conformist  opinion  behind  it 
and  all  the  massed  force  of  the  Church  against  it.  It  was 
passed  by  an  enormous  majority  in  the  Commons,  where 
non-conformist  sentiment  was  probably  stronger  than  it 
had  been  since  the  Long  Parliament,  but  was  thrown  out 
by  the  peers.  The  Plural  Voting  Bill,  which  was  to  limit 
a  man  with  several  residences  to  one  place  of  voting  at 
a  given  time,  met  a  similar  end.  Then  it  was  that  the 
government  brought  in  and  passed  through  the  Com- 
mons resolutions,  "merely  anticipatory,"  that  the  power 
of  the  Upper  House  to  alter  or  reject  bills  must  be  restricted 
by  law,  so  as  to  make  sure  that  "within  the  limits  of  a 
single  Parliament  the  final  decision  of  the  Commons  should 
prevail."  This  was  in  1907.  In  the  next  year  the  bill  for 
Old  Age  Pensions  was  accepted  by  the  peers  because  the 
Conservative  party  did  not  oppose  the  plan.  The  Lords 
were,  said  Mr.  Lloyd  George,  the  "poodles"  of  Mr.  Bal- 
four,  the  leader  of  the  Conservatives.  But  the  Licensing 
Bill,  a  mild  enough  temperance  measure  which  was  to 
reduce  the  number  of  public  houses  by  one-third  and 
bring  about  that  consummation  within  fourteen  years, 
went  the  way  of  the  Education  Bill  and  the  Plural  Voting 
Bill. 

The  Liberal  party  now  found  itself  estopped  in  every 
attack  upon  privilege.  Faced  with  aggressive  Liberal 
measures,  the  Lords  had  resumed  all  their  old  powers. 
They  had  taken  back  all  the  authority  they  had  before 
1830,  had  taken  it  back  because  the  New  Liberalism  was 
dangerous  to  institutions  and  interests  of  the  conserva- 
tive classes.  It  was  at  this  point  that  Mr.  Lloyd  George 
brought  in  the  Budget  of  1909. 

339 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 


II.   INTRODUCTION  TO  THE   SOURCES 

The  Source  materials  of  this  problem  are  of  two  kinds, 
neither  of  which  calls  for  much  discussion. 

1.  Statutes.     One  statute,  the  Parliament  Act  of  1911, 
is  taken  from  the  Law  Reports,  the  Public  General  Statutes, 
ign  [London,   1911].    The  other,  the  Finance  Bill  of 
1909  (which  was  finally  passed  in  1910),  is  not  given  in 
official  form  because  of  its  length,  but  its  novel  features, 
as  summarized  by  Professor  Seligman  in  an  article  in  the 
Survey  for  Jan.  15,  1910,  are  explained  in  a  few  brief 
paragraphs. 

2.  Speeches.    These  have  been  recorded  by  trained 
and  accurate  reporters,  or  briefed  by  men  expert  in  get- 
ting the  gist  of  a  speech  from  complete  reports.    The 
extracts  have  been  collected  from  three  closely  related 
sources. 

a.  Hansard  is  the  official  report  of  speeches  in  Parlia- 
ment and  is  based  upon  stenographic  notes. 

b.  The  London  Times  [weekly  ed.]  gives  excellent  sum- 
maries of  public  speeches  in  and  out  of  Parliament.    While 
the  Times  is  a  Conservative  or  Unionist  paper,  its  accounts 
of  speeches  are  entirely  non-partisan  and  fair. 

c.  The  Annual  Register  gives  summaries  of  speeches 
which  are  based  upon  the  official  accounts  or  taken  from 
accounts  in  the  best  London  dailies. 


HI.   QUESTIONS  AND  SUGGESTIONS  FOR   STUDY 

X.  What  were  the  immediate  expenses  in  1909  which  made 
necessary  a  largely  increased  revenue? 

a.  What  were  the  plans  of  the  government  for  further  ex- 
penditure in  the  future? 
340 


The  Parliament  Act  of  1911 

3.  Which  of  the  Budget  proposals  of  1909  looked  to  immediate 

returns?    Which  to  future  revenues? 

4.  Which  features  of  the  Budget  would  be  the  most  objection- 

able to  the  Lords?    Why? 

5.  What  alternative  did  the  Unionist  (Conservative)  party 

offer  to  the  Budget? 

6.  Was  Mr.  Lloyd  George  framing  a  financial  policy  for  the 

future?  or  was  he  trying  to  insert  into  a  finance  bill 
schemes  of  social  legislation?  or  was  he  arranging  the 
stage  for  a  struggle  with  the  Lords? 

7.  What  is  meant  by  "tacking"?    Had  the  government  been 

guilty  of  tacking  in  the  Budget  of  1909? 

8.  What  is  the  constitutional  significance  of  the  Resolution 

of  1672?  of  the  Commons'  argument  of  1689?  of  the 
course  of  the  Paper  Bill  Repeal  of  1860-1861? 

9.  What  did  Mr.  Balfour  mean  by  the  "theory  of  a  'second 

chamber'  system"?  Did  the  action  of  the  Lords  in 
rejecting  the  Budget  accord  with  such  a  theory? 

10.  What  had  been  the  history  of  attempts  on  the  part  of  the 

Lords,  by  the  rejection  of  measures,  to  force  an  appeal 
to  the  people?  What  had  been  the  policy  of  the  Liberal 
party  on  this  matter?  Why  did  the  government  then 
allow  a  dissolution  to  follow  the  rejection  of  the  Budget? 

11.  How  much  did  Mr.  Asquith  imply  by  his  warning  on  Dec. 

loth?  Had  the  government  any  plan  in  mind  by  this 
time? 

12.  Who  writes  the  King's  Speech?    What  was  the  significance 

of  the  King's  words? 

13.  Why  would  Lord  Rosebery's  scheme  for  the  House  of  Lords 

be  unsatisfactory  to  the  Liberal  party?  What  former 
scheme  did  it  resemble? 

14.  How  far  had  Mr.  Asquith's  Resolutions  been  forecast  at 

earlier  times? 

15.  What  further  plans  for  the  House  of  Lords  besides  those  in- 

dicated in  the  Resolutions  did  the  government  have  in 
mind?  Have  those  plans  been  carried  out? 

1 6.  What  was  the  significance  of  Lord  Lansdowne's  scheme? 

341 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

How  was  it  that  the  leader  of  the  Conservative  party 
in  the  House  of  Lords  was  willing  to  offer  so  much? 

17.  What  became  of  the  Budget  of  1909?    What  constitutional 

theory  lay  behind  the  fact  that  the  Lords  passed  the 
Budget  so  quickly  when  it  was  presented  to  them 
again? 

18.  Why  was  a  second  election  in  less  than  a  year's  time  neces- 

sary? 

19.  When  Mr.  Asquith  went  into  the  election  of  December, 

1910,  what  security  did  he  have  that  the  King  would 
exercise  bis  prerogative  to  pass  the  Parliament  Bill? 

20.  Why  did  the  King  have  no  alternative  but  to  accept  the 

advice  of  his  Ministers? 


21.  What  was  the  change  made  in  the  duration  of  Parliament? 

22.  How  is  the  Parliament  Act  likely  to  affect  the  introduction 

of  legislation  when  the  Liberal  party  is  in  power? 

23.  How   will   the   "speeding  up"   of   legislation,   which   will 

naturally  occur,  affect  the  influence  of  the  Cabinet? 

24.  What  will  be  the  effect  of  the  Parliament  Act  on  the  im- 

provement and  revision  of  bills? 

25.  What  had  been  Edward  VII.'s  attitude  toward  the  Parlia- 

mentary struggle  (see  Edward  VII.  in  Dictionary  of 
National  Biography)? 


IV.    The  Sources 

[The  Budget  of  1909,  in  general  as  outlined  below,  was 
introduced  on  April  29th.] 

i.  Edwin  R.  Seligman,  The  English  Budget  Proposals, 

in  the  Survey  for  Jan.  15,  1910. 

s  England  is  henceforth  to  enforce  both  the  dif- 
ferentiation and  the  graduation  of  the  income  tax. 
In  other  words,  not  only  is  a  distinction  made  be- 
tween earned  and  unearned  incomes,  whereby  the 
unearned  incomes  are  taxed  at  a  higher  rate  than  the 

10  earned  incomes;  but  the  beginnings  of  progressive 
taxation  are  introduced  by  the  introduction  of  the 
so-called  super-tax.  That  is  to  say,  whenever  the 
total  income  exceeds  £5,000,  an  additional  duty 
of  6d.  in  the  pound  (over  and  above  the  normal  rate 

is  of  15.  2<f.)  is  charged  for  every  pound  of  the  amount 
by  which  the  total  income  exceeds  £3,000.  More- 
over, on  the  smaller  incomes,  in  addition  to  the  abate- 
ments that  are  already  in  force,  it  is  provided  that 
a  reduction  of  £10  in  the  tax  shall  be  made  for  each 

ao  child.  .  .  . 

According  to  the  new  scheme  the  estate  duty 

343 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

which  begins  at  the  rate  of  one  per  cent,  when  the 
estate  amounts  to  from  £100  to  £500,  now  runs  up, 
in  a  very  sharp  graduation,  until  it  reaches  ten  per 
cent,  on  estates  between  £150,000  to  £200,000,  and 

5  fifteen  per  cent,  on  estates  over  £1,000,000.  .  .  . 
We  also  have  the  legacy  and  succession  duties, 
which  apply  to  separate  shares  of  the  estates.  .  .  . 
These,  which  are  graduated  according  to  relation- 
ship, run  up  to  ten  per  cent.  The  result  is  that 

10  the  English  inheritance  tax  under  its  present  form 
is  graduated  up  to  the  point  of  twenty-five  per 
cent.  .  .  . 

The  Budget  provides  for  what  is  known  as  an 
undeveloped  land  duty;    that  is,  a  tax  of  one  half- 

»s  penny  on  the  pound  on  the  site  value  l  of  land 

The  tax  should  not  be  applied  to  any  land  where 
the  site  value  should  not  exceed  £50  per  acre. 
This  at  once  exempts  most  of  the  agricultural  land. 
It  is  also  provided  that  in  the  case  of  agricultural 

ao  land  where  the  site  value  exceeds  £50  per  acre,  the 
tax  shall  be  chargeable  only  on  the  amount  by  which 
the  site  value  of  the  land  exceeds  its  value  for  agri- 
cultural purposes.  Other  exemptions  also  are  made 
for  parks,  gardens,  open  spaces,  and  in  general  for 

as  any  land  where  the  commissioners  think  that  it  is 
desirable  for  social  purposes  to  keep  the  land  free 
from  buildings.  In  order  to  make  this  tax  possible, 

1  7. «.,  the  value  of  the  land  apart  from  buildings,  machinery, 
appurtenances,  etc. 

344 


The  Parliament  Act  of  1911 

provision  is  made  for  a  survey  and  valuation  of  all 
the  lands  in  the  United  Kingdom.  .  .  . 

The  increment  value  duty  is,  in  many  respects, 
the  most  interesting  part  of  the  entire  scheme.  It 
s  provides  that  when  any  land  is  sold,  or  leased  for  a 
period  of  more  than  fourteen  years,  and  the  value 
of  the  site  turns  out  to  be  greater  than  its  value  at 
the  last  transfer  or  at  the  beginning  of  the  lease,  a 
tax  of  twenty  per  cent,  shall  be  imposed  on  the  in- 

10  crease  of  land  value  over  and  above  an  increase  of 
ten  per  cent,  in  the  value.  Agricultural  land  is 
exempt.  .  .  . 

As  a  supplement  to  this  increment  value  duty  there 
is  ...  a  so-called  reversion  duty  at  the  rate  of  ten 

is  per  cent,  on  the  capital  value.  This  reversion  duty 
is  payable  on  the  termination  of  any  lease  of  land, 
and  is  assessed  on  the  value  of  the  benefit l  accruing 
to  the  lessor  by  reason  of  the  termination  of  the 
lease.  It  is  not  charged  on  agricultural  lands  nor 

20  on  leases  less  than  twenty-one  years.  .  .  . 

The  Budget  also  provides  for  a  so-called  mineral 
rights  duty,  which  is  a  tax  of  five  per  cent,  on  the 
rental  value  of  all  rights  to  work  minerals.  .  .  . 
2.  Annual  Register,  1909,  p.  181.     [Mr.  Lloyd  George 

as  at  Limehouse,  July  3oth.] 

The  city,  he  said,  had  demanded  further  expendi- 
ture on  the  navy;  but  while  the  workmen  in  Derby- 

1  The  benefit  is  the  sum  by  which  the  total  value  exceeds  the 
value  at  the  time  of  the  original  grant. 

345 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

shire,  Cleveland,  and  Dumfries  had  shown  them- 
selves willing  to  .pay,  there  was  a  howl  from  Bel- 
gravia.  .  .  .  The  Budget  was  raising  money  to  pro- 
vide against  poverty,  unemployment,  and  sickness; 
s  for  widows  and  orphans,  and  for  the  development 
of  our  own  land.  The  land  taxes,  especially,  were 
being  attacked  with  ferocity.  But  land  near  the 
London  docks,  formerly  rented  at  £2  or  £3  an  acre, 
had  sold  at  £6,000  or  £8,000  an  acre.  A  piece  of 
10  land  at  Golders  Green,  near  Hampstead,  had  risen 
in  value  from  £160  to  £2,100  through  the  making  of 
the  tube  railway.  The  Duke  of  Northumberland 
had  asked  £900  an  acre  for  a  piece  of  land  wanted 
for  a  school  and  rated  at  305.  an  acre.  ...  As  one  of 
«s  the  children  of  the  people,  he  had  made  up  his  mind 
in  framing  the  Budget  that  no  cupboard  should  be 
bared,  no  lot  should  be  harder  to  bear. 
3.  Annual  Register,  1909,  p.  209.  [Mr.  Asquith  at 

Birmingham,  Sept.  i7th.] 

ao  As  to  the  Tariff  Reform  alternative,  Mr.  Asquith 
challenged  Mr.  Balfour  to  give  a  clear  answer  in 
his  coming  speech.  What  would  the  peers  do? 
Mutilation  or  rejection  would  be  the  most  for- 
midable revolution  since  the  days  of  the  Long  Par- 
as liament.  Every  bill  granting  taxes  stated  in  its 
preamble  that  the  taxes  were  granted  by  the  Com- 
mons. Mention  of  the  Lords  had  been  expressly 
omitted  in  1628  on  the  report  of  a  committee  in- 
cluding Coke  and  Selden,  and  the  principle  had  been 

346 


The  Parliament  Act  of  1911 

confirmed  by  the  celebrated  resolutions  of  1672  and 
1678. l  It  had  been  affirmed,  as  he  showed  by  quo- 
tations, by  the  elder  Pitt,  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
Lord  Rosebery  himself,  Lord  Salisbury,  and  Mr. 

5  Balfour.  ...  In  matters  of  finance  the  Lords  were 
impotent,  the  Commons  supreme.  Amendment  and 
rejection  by  the  Lords  were  equally  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. "That  way  revolution  lies";  it  would  involve 
issues  far  wider  and  deeper  than  the  right  of  the 

10  Lords  to  meddle  with  finance.     The  Liberal  party 
were  not  only  ready,  but  anxious  and  eager  to  take 
up  the  challenge. 
4.  Annual  Register,  1909,  p.  231. 

The   Chancellor   of   the   Exchequer   [Mr.    Lloyd 

is  George]  described  "the  issues  of  the  Budget"  in  the 
Nation  [England]  of  October  30.  He  rejoiced  that 
one  of  the  greatest  struggles  in  Great  Britain  for 
upwards  of  250  years  should  arise  over  a  measure 
decisively  raising  some  of  the  most  important  issues 

ao  between  Liberalism  and  Toryism — Free  Trade  or 
Protection;  the  taxation  of  necessaries  or  of  super- 
fluities and  monopolies;  the  avoidance,  at  national 
cost,  of  unmerited  poverty  and  distress;  the  respon- 

1  The  Commons  Resolution  of  1678  was:  "That  all  Aids  and  Sup- 
as  plies,  and  Aids  to  his  Majesty  in  Parliament,  are  the  sole  Gift  of  the 
Commons,  and  all  Bills  for  the  Granting  of  any  such  Aids  and 
Supplies  ought  to  begin  with  the  Commons.     And  that  it  is  the  un- 
doubted and  sole  right  of  the  Commons  to  direct,  limit,  and  appoint 
in  such  Bill  the  Ends,  Purposes,  Considerations,  Conditions,  Limita- 
30  tions,  and  Qualifications  of  such  Grants,  which  ought  not  to  be 
changed  or  altered  by  the  House  of  Lords." 

23  347 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

sibility  of  the  State  for  the  organized  development 
of  the  neglected  wealth  of  the  land.  The  Budget, 
he  regarded  as  part  of  a  comprehensive  scheme  of 
fiscal  and  social  reform,  including  unemployment  and 
s  sickness  insurance  and  rural  development.  .  .  .  He 
aimed  at  raising  an  increasing  revenue  to  be  ear- 
marked for  the  Government  schemes  of  social  reform 
and  national  development.  .  .  .  The  Budget  was  only 
a  beginning  of  needed  land  reform. 

i0  [On  Nov.  8,  1909,  The  Finance  Bill  or  Budget,  having 
been  passed  in  the  Commons,  was  introduced  in  the 
Lords.] 

5.  Annual  Register,  1909,  p.  244. 

On  November  i6th,  the  Marquess  of  Lansdowne 

is  gave  notice  that  on  the  second  reading  of  the  Finance 
Bill  he  would  move  "That  this  House  is  not  justi- 
fied in  giving  its  assent  to  the  Bill,  until  it  has  been 
submitted  to  the  judgment  of  the  country." 
pp.  247,  248. 

20  The  Marquess  of  Lansdowne,  moving  his  resolu- 
tion, claimed  that  the  House's  right  to  reject  a 
Money  Bill  was  expressly  recorded  in  the  Commons' 
argument  of  1689;*  but  it  required  reassertion,  be- 
cause the  Commons'  privileges  were  now  interpreted 

as  strictly,  and  "tacking"  had  increased,  culminating 

1  Here  Lord  Lansdowne  quoted:  "And  the  Lords  are  not  to  alter 

such  gift,  grant,  limitation,  appointment,  or  modification  by  the 

Commons  in  any  part  or  circumstance,  or  otherwise  interpose  in 

such  Bill  than  to  pass  or  reject  the  same  for  the  whole,  without  any 

30  alteration  or  amendment." 

348 


The  Parliament  Act  of  1911 

in  the  Finance  Bill  of  I894.1  Thus  the  Lords  were 
thrown  back  on  rejection,  a  right  asserted — as  he 
showed  by  quotations — by  Earl  Spencer  and  the  Mar- 
quess of  Ripon.  The  Scottish  Valuation  Bill  and  the 

«  Licensing  Bill  had  been  rejected,  and  might  be  re- 
jected when  grafted  on  a  Finance  Bill.  Why  should 
not  a  Home  Rule  Bill  be  similarly  grafted?  The 
question  was  not  whether  they  could,  but  whether 
they  ought  to  reject  the  Bill.  This  was  admittedly 

10  not  an  ordinary  budget,  and  so  it  ought  to  be  re- 
ferred to  the  electors. 

6.  Hansard,  1909,  Lords,  IV,   752-3.      [Lord   Lore- 
burn  (Lord  Chancellor),  Nov.  22,  1909.] 
In  the  year  1860,  when  this  House  threw  out  the 

is  Bill  for  the  repeal  of  the  Paper  Duty,  the  House  of 
Commons  passed  a  Resolution  asserting  that  they 
had  themselves  the  power  of  keeping  their  own  rights 
inviolate,  and  the  next  year  they  put  all  the  money 
provisions  .  .  .  into  one  Bill.  It  was  passed  by  your 

20  Lordships.  It  has  been  passed  ever  since  by  your 
Lordships.  ...  It  is  very  open  to  question  .  .  .  whether 
any  pure  money  Bill,  small  or  large,  had  ever  been 
thrown  out  by  this  House.  .  .  .  But  I  will  assume, 

1  Lord  Lansdowne's  exact  words  on  this  point  were:    "But  an^ 
25   other  practice  has  grown  up  ...  I  mean  the  practice  of  grouping  to- 
gether under  one  Bill  a  large  number  of  measures  dealing  with  dif- 
ferent taxes.     That  is  a  recent  practice  and  it  never  assumed  its 
present  proportions  until  the  year  1894.  .  .  .  And  this  change  was 
made  with  the  obvious  intention  of  embarrassing  your  Lordships  in 
30  the  exercise  of  your  undoubted  rights." 

349 


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although  I  do  not  wholly  assent,  that  it  has  been 
done  on  various  occasions  in  the  course  of  these 
small  and  unimportant  Bills;  but  it  has  never  been 
done — never — in  regard  to  the  finance  of  the  year. 

s      [On  Nov.  30,  1909,  the  Finance  Bill  was  rejected  by 
the  House  of  Lords  by  a  vote  of  350  to  75.! 

7.  The  Times,  Dec.  10,  1909,  p.  790.     [Mr.  Asquith  in 

the  Commons,  Dec.  2d.] 
When  Mr.  Asquith  rose  to  move  the  resolution 

10  of  which  he  had  given  notice,  "That  the  action  of 
the  House  of  Lords  in  refusing  to  pass  into  law  the 
financial  provision  made  by  this  House  for  the  ser- 
vice of  the  year  is  a  breach  of  the  Constitution  and 
a  usurpation  of  the  rights  of  the  Commons, "  he  was 

is  again  loudly  cheered.  ...  It  was  by  insistence  on  the 
distinction  between  the  genius  and  spirit  of  our  Con- 
stitution and  the  bare,  barren  letter  of  the  law  that 
the  liberties  of  England  had  been  made  and  saved. 
.  .  .  Ever  since  1628,  when  the  name  of  the  House  of 

™  Lords  was  omitted  from  the  preamble  of  a  Supply 
Bill,  the  Commons  had  constantly  asserted  with 
great  emphasis  their  exclusive  right  to  determine 
what  the  taxation  of  the  country  should  be.  ...  It 
had  been  put  forward  as  a  justification  for  the  Lords' 

*s  action  that  the  Bill  in  question  was  not  really  a  Fi- 
nance Bill.  This  contention  Mr.  Asquith  brushed 
aside  as  the  absurd  contention  of  a  bankrupt  contro- 
versialist, there  not  being,  he  asserted,  one  single 

350 


The  Parliament  Act  of  1911 

clause  in  the  measure  not  concerned  with  the  pri- 
mary purpose  of  raising  revenue.  The  affirmation 
that  the  Lords  had  not  rejected  the  Bill,  but  merely 
referred  it  to  the  people,  he  examined  critically, 
s  saying  that  if  this  precedent  of  a  reference  to  the 
people  were  once  adopted  no  Liberal  government 
would  be  safe.  The  Lords  would  have  the  power  to 
compel  the  Executive  of  the  day  to  take  one  of 
three  courses — to  submit  a  new  Budget  to  the  other 

jo  House,  or  to  send  up  the  old  one  again  without  mak- 
ing in  it  adequate  provision  for  the  needs  of  the 
state,  or  to  advise  the  Crown  to  dissolve  Parlia- 
ment. .  .  .  The  real  question  .  .  .  was  whether,  when 
the  Liberal  party  was  in  power  the  House  of  Lords 

is  should  be  omnipotent.     "We  are  living  now  [said 
he]  under  a  system  of  false  balances  and  loaded 
dice."  .  .  .  "We  believe  that  the  first  principles  of 
representative  government  are  at  stake.  ..." 
8.  The  Times,  Dec.  10,  1909,  p.  790.     [Mr.  Balfour 

ao  in  the  Commons,  Dec.  ad.] 

In  his  speech  the  Prime  Minister  had  ignored  vital 
points;  for  example,  that  the  Commons  had  ad- 
mitted in  terms  that  the  Lords  had  a  right  to  reject 
a  Finance  Bill,  though  not  to  initiate  or  amend  one. 

as  He  went  on  to  declare — and  the  declaration  was  re- 
ceived by  the  Ministerialists  with  mocking  laughter 
— that  manifestly  such  action  as  the  Lords  had  taken 
must  be  of  rare  occurrence.  ...  In  support  of  the 
contention  that  the  Lords  could  reject  a  Finance 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

Bill,  he  referred  to  opinions  expressed  by  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, Lord  Spencer,  Lord  Ripon,  and  the  present 
Lord  Chancellor.  .  .  .  The  central  point  ...  in  the 
present  controversy  was  this — Had  the  Lords,  in  in- 

s  sisting  that  the  constituencies  must  be  consulted 
on  the  Finance  Bill,  exceeded  the  functions  which  a 
Second  Chamber  ought  to  have.  ...  If  the  people 
should  want  the  Budget  they  would  not  suffer,  for 
they  could  return  a  Liberal  Government  and  the 

10  Finance  Bill  could  be  reintroduced.  The  course 
taken  by  the  Lords  accorded  with  the  whole  theory 
of  the  Second  Chamber  system.  .  .  . 

9.  Annual    Register,     1909,    p.    258.      [Mr.    Lloyd 

George,  Dec.  3d,  at  the  National  Liberal  Club.] 
is       Dismissing  the  Bill  [Finance  Bill]  after  a  few  sen- 
tences, he  said  that  its  rejection  had  initiated  one 
of   the   greatest   and   most   promising   struggles   of 
modern  times.     The  issue  would  be  the  supremacy 
of  the  House  of  Lords.     Its  insolence  had  grown  by 
*>  immunity.     It  was  purely  a  branch  of  the  Tory 
organization.     He  would  not  remain  a  member  of 
a  Liberal  Cabinet  for  an  hour  unless  full  powers 
were  accorded  it   enabling  it  to  pass  into  law  a 
measure  securing  that  the  House  of  Commons  could 
as  cany  bills  in  a  single  Parliament  either  with  or  with- 
out the  sanction  of  the  House  of  Lords. 

10.  The  Times,  Dec.  17,  1909,  pp.  806-7.     [Mr.  As- 

quith  at  Albert  Hall,  Dec.  ioth.] 
. . .  The  House  of  Lords  had  not,  indeed,  raised,  but 
352 


The  Parliament  Act  of  1911 

has  hurried  on  for  prompt  decision  a  larger  issue 
still  [he  has  been  speaking  of  Tariff  Reform].  J  tell 
you  quite  plainly,  and  I  tell  my  fellow-countrymen 
outside  that  neither  I  nor  any  other  Liberal  Minister 
s  supported  by  a  majority  of  the  House  of  Commons 
are  going  to  submit  again  to  the  rebuffs  and  the 
humiliations  of  the  last  four  years.  We  shall  not 
assume  office,  and  we  shall  not  hold  office,  unless  we 
can  secure  the  safeguards  which  experience  shows 
»o  to  be  necessary  for  the  legislative  utility  and  honor 
of  the  party  of  progress. 

[In  the  week  of  Dec.  5-12  it  was  officially  announced 
that  Parliament  would  be  dissolved  Jan.  8,  1910,  and  that 
writs  would  be  issued  on  that  day  for  a  new  Parliament.] 

is  ii.  The  Times,  Dec.  17,  1909,  p.  806.     [Mr.  Balfour's 

Election  Address,  Dec.  ioth.] 

The  claim  of  the  Government,  stripped  of  the  bad 

history  and  bad  law  with  which  it  is  obscured,  is 

simplicity   itself.     They   hold    that    the    House    of 

so  Commons,  no  matter  how  elected  or  when  elected, 

no  matter  what  its  relation  to  public  opinion  at  the 

moment,  is  to  be  the  uncontrolled  master  of  the 

fortunes  of  every  class  in  the  community;   and  that 

to  the  community  itself  no  appeal,  even  on  the  ex- 

25  tremest  cases,  is  to  be  allowed  to  lie.  .  .  . 

The  questions  raised  are  three — (i)  May  there 
not  be  occasions  on  which  an  appeal  to  the  people 
on  matters  of  finance  is  necessary?  (2)  Is  not  this 

353 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

one  of  them?  And  (3)  if  these  questions  be  answered 
in  the  affirmative,  does  any  other  machinery  exist 
for  securing  the  appeal  except  that  which  has  been 
set  in  motion  by  the  House  of  Lords?  .  .  . 

s  The  truth  of  the  matter  is  that  the  present  attack 
on  the  House  of  Lords  is  but  the  culmination  of  a 
long-drawn  conspiracy.  The  Government  came  into 
office,  not  to  work  the  Constitution  of  the  country, 
but  to  destroy  it.  ... 

0  The  Budget,  now  waiting  the  sentence  of  the  peo- 
ple, seems  designed  of  set  purpose  to  make  every 
man  who  has  invested  his  money  in  this  country 
consider  how  he  can  remove  it,  and  every  man 
who  is  hesitating  where  to  invest  it  determine  to 

s  invest  it  abroad.  The  super-tax  frightens  some,  the 
new  death-duties  cripple  others,  and,  worse  than  all, 
the  origin  of  the  proposals  and  the  principles  on  which 
they  have  been  defended  show  clearly  how  thin  is 
the  dividing  line  which  separates  the  policy  of  the 

o  Government  from  that  of  the  avowed  socialists. 

[The  result  of  the  election  was  to  put  the  Liberal  party, 
with  its  allies,  the  Labor  and  the  Nationalist  parties,  back 
into  power  with  a  total  majority  of  125  as  against  a  ma- 
jority before  dissolution  of  about  334.] 

s  12.  Annual  Register,  1910,  p.  20.  [Excerpt  from  the 
King's  speech,  Feb.  2ist,  on  opening  Parlia- 
ment.] 

My  Lords  and  Gentlemen, — Recent  experience  has 
disclosed  serious  difficulties,  due  to  recurring  differ- 

354 


The  Parliament  Act  of  1911 

ences  of  strong  opinion  between  the  two  branches 
of  the  legislature.  Proposals  will  be  laid  before 
you,  with  all  convenient  speed,  to  define  the  relations 
between  the  Houses  of  Parliament,  so  as  to  secure 
s  the  undivided  authority  of  the  House  of  Commons 
over  finance,  and  its  predominance  in  legislation. 

[With  the  opening  of  Parliament  the  Finance  Bill  of 
1909  was  reintroduced;    it  passed  the  Commons  again 
on  April  27,  1910,  and  went  through  the  House  of  Lords 
10  next  day.] 

13.  Annual  Register,  1910,  pp.  22,  23.     [Debate  on 

the  Address,  Feb.  21  St.] 

Mr.  Asquith.  .  .  .  There  was  an  overwhelming  ma- 
jority in  the  House  absolutely  pledged  to  deal  with 

is  the  veto,  and  the  Government  would  ask  the  House 
of  Commons  to  devote  its  opening  session  to  this 
topic  alone.  To  save  time  they  proposed  to  proceed 
in  the  first  instance  by  resolutions,  which  were  to  be 
embodied  in  a  bill  to  be  passed  during  the  session, 

>o  and  on  these  he  hoped  that  the  House  might  pro- 
nounce before  its  spring  recess.  The  Budget  had 
to  be  reaffirmed.  .  .  .  The  next  step  would  be  to  ob- 
tain authority  to  renew,  as  they  fell  due,  the  Treasury 
Bills  issued  in  consequence  of  the  rejection  of  the 

as  Budget.  .  .  . 

14.  London  Times,  March  18,  1910,  p.  189.     [Lord 

Rosebery's  Resolutions  in  the  House  of  Lords 
Committee,   March   i4th.] 

i.  That  a  strong  and  efficient  Second  Chamber  is 
355 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

not  merely  an  integral  part  of  the  British  Constitu- 
tion, but  is  necessary  to  the  well-being  of  the  state 
and  to  the  balance  of  Parliament. 

2.  That  such  a  Chamber  can  best  be  obtained  by 
•'*  the  reform  and  reconstitution  of  the  House  of  Lords. 

3.  That  a  necessary  preliminary  of  such  reform 
and  reconstitution  is  the  acceptance  of  the  principle 
that  the  possession  of  a  peerage  should  no  longer  of 
itself  give  the  right  to  sit  and  vote  in  the  House  of 

10  Lords. 

15.  The  Times,  March  25,  1910,  p.  215.     [Mr.  As- 
quith's  Resolutions  in  Committee  (introduced 
March  29th).] 
i.  That  it  is  expedient  that  the  House  of  Lords 

is  be  disabled  by  law  from  rejecting  or  amending  a 
Money  Bill,  but  that  any  such  limitation  by  law  shall 
not  be  taken  to  diminish  or  qualify  the  existing  rights 
and  privileges  of  the  House  of  Commons.  [Definition 
of  a  Money  Bill  follows.] 

20  2.  That  it  is  expedient  that  the  powers  of  the 
House  of  Lords,  as  respects  bills  other  than  Money 
Bills,  be  restricted  by  law,  so  that  any  such  bill 
which  has  passed  the  House  of  Commons  in  three 
successive  sessions  and,  having  been  sent  up  to  the 

as  House  of  Lords  at  least  one  month  before  the  end 
of  the  session,  has  been  rejected  by  that  House  in 
each  of  these  sessions,  shall  become  law  without  the 
consent  of  the  House  of  Lords,  on  the  Royal  Assent 
being  declared.  Provided  that  at  least  two  years 

356 


The  Parliament  Act  of  1911 

shall  have  elapsed  between  the  date  of  the  first  in- 
troduction of  the  Bill  in  the  House  of  Commons  and 
the  date  on  which  it  passes  the  House  of  Commons 
for  the  third  time.  For  the  purpose  of  this  resolu- 

s  tion  a  bill  shall  be  treated  as  rejected  by  the  House 
of  Lords  if  it  has  not  been  passed  by  the  House  of 
Lords  either  without  amendment  or  with  such 
amendments  only  as  may  be  agreed  upon  by  both 
Houses. 

10  3.  That  it  is  expedient  to  limit  the  duration  of 
Parliament  to  five  years. 

16.  Annual  Register,    1910,    p.    68.     [Mr.   Asquith, 

March  29th.] 
The  Commons  must  predominate;    but  a  Second 

is  Chamber  might  usefully  discharge  the  functions  of 
consultation,  of  revision,  and,  subject  to  proper 
safeguards,  of  delay.  Such  a  Chamber  should  be 
relatively  small;  its  basis  should  be  democratic,  not 
hereditary;  it  must  not  be  "governed  by  partisan- 

20  ship  tempered  by  panic,"  and  should  be  representa- 
tive of  and  dependent  on  the  will  of  the  nation. 
The  Government  resolutions  therefore  were  not  put 
forward  as  a  final  or  adequate  solution. 

17.  Annual    Register,     1910,     p.     77.      [Mr.  Lloyd 
35  George,  April  4th.] 

The  real  issue  was  the  existence  of  a  permanent 
anti-Liberal  majority  in  the  House  of  Lords.  He 
dealt  at  length  with  its  action  since  1900;  it  ac- 
cepted contentious  Unionist  bills  for  which  there 

357 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

was  no  mandate,  but  rejected  in  the  Parliament  of 
1906  five  contentious  measures  out  of  six.  .  .  .  He 
ridiculed  the  fears  entertained  of  socialism.  If  the 
people  really  wished  for  revolutionary  measures,  of 
s  what  use  would  be  the  Lords'  veto?  Of  what  use 
was  the  King's  veto  in  the  French  Revolution  ?  The 
peers  were  just  ordinary  party  men,  and  could  not 
be  an  impartial  jury.  .  .  . 

[In  the  midst  of  a  complex  political  situation  when 

10  it  looked  as  if  the  King  would  be  called  upon  by  the 

government  to  create  enough  peers  to  put  through  the 

Parliament  Bill,   King  Edward  VII.  died  suddenly  on 

May  6th.     On  June  i6th  it  was  decided  that  there  would 

be  a  conference  of  eight  men,  four  from  each  party,  with  a 

is  view  to  a  compromise.     That  conference  broke  up  on 

Nov.  loth  without  result.] 

18.  Annual  Register,  1910,  p.  241.     Nov.  2ist. 

The  Marquess  of  Lansdowne  read  out  his  resolu- 
tions.    They  embodied  a  scheme  for  settling  dif- 

30  ferences  between  the  Commons  and  the  "reduced 
and  reconstituted"  House  of  Lords.  A  difference 
as  to  bills  other  than  Money  Bills  in  two  successive 
sessions,  and  within  an  interval  of  not  less  than  one 
year,  was  to  be  settled  in  a  joint  sitting  composed  of 

»s  members  of  both  Houses,  provided  that,  if  it  related 
to  a  matter  of  great  gravity  and  had  not  been  ade- 
quately submitted  to  the  judgment  of  the  people, 
it  should  be  submitted  to  the  electors  for  decision 
by  referendum.  As  to  Money  Bills,  the  Lords 

358 


The  Parliament  Act  of  1911 

would  forego  their  constitutional  right  to  reject  or 
amend  Money  Bills,  purely  financial  in  character, 
provided  that  effectual  provision  was  made  against 
tacking.  .  .  . 

s  19.  Annual   Register,    1910,   p.    237.     [Mr.  Asquith 

at  the  National  Liberal  Club,  Nov.  igth.] 
He  commented  on  the  change  in  the  Unionist  at- 
titude, quoting  Dr.  Johnson's  saying  regarding  Dr. 
Dodd,  "When  a  man  knows  he  is  going  to  be  hanged 

10  in  a  fortnight  it  concentrates  his  mind  wonder- 
fully." In  one  sitting  the  House  of  Lords  had  been 
transformed — in  principle — into  a  brand-new  modern 
Senate  .  .  .  but  meantime  an  instrument  was  wanted 
to  remove  deadlocks,  and  give  the  Liberals  an  equal 

is  chance  in  legislation. 

[On  Nov.  1 8th  Mr.  Asquith  announced  in  the  Commons 
that  the  Government  had  advised  the  King  to  bring  that 
Parliament  to  an  end.  Parliament  was  dissolved  on 
Nov.  28th,  and  the  election  was  ended  before  Christmas. 
20  The  result  of  the  election  was  almost  exactly  the  same 
as  in  January.] 

20.  Annual  Register,  1911,  pp.  27,  28. 

The  motion  for  leave  to  introduce  the  Parliament 
Bill  was  made  by  the  Prime  Minister  on  Tuesday, 
35  February  21.  ...  Mr.  Asquith  .  .  .  said  that  the  situa- 
tion was  in  some  respects  almost  without  precedent 
in  the  parliamentary  annals  of  the  country.  The 
Bill  was  identical  in  every  respect  with  that  of  1910, 
which  the  electorate  had  since  approved  by  a  ma- 

359 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

jority  of  120  in  the  United  Kingdom  and  60  in  Great 
Britain.  He  dwelt  on  the  divergence,  under  an  un- 
written constitution  between  legal  powers  and  con- 
stitutional practice,  pointing  out  that  the  crisis  was 

s  occasioned  by  the  sudden  assertion  of  a  disused 
legal  right. 

21.  The  Times,  May  12,  1911,  p.  371.  [House  of 
Lords  Reconstitution  Bill,  introduced  by  Lord 
Lansdowne  in  the  Lords,  May  8th.  Memo- 

10  randum  of.] 

One  hundred  Lords  of  Parliament  elected  by  the 
whole  body  of  hereditary  peers  from  among  those 
hereditary  peers  who  possess  any  of  the  qualifica- 
tions set  out  in  the  schedule. 

is  One  hundred  and  twenty  Lords  of  Parliament 
elected  for  electoral  districts  to  be  formed  by  com- 
missioners throughout  the  United  Kingdom — the 
election  to  be  by  electoral  colleges  composed  of  the 
members  of  the  House  of  Commons  for  constituencies 

20  within  each  Electoral  District. 

One  hundred  Lords  of  Parliament  appointed  by 
His  Majesty,  on  the  advice  of  the  Ministry  of  the 
day,  in  proportion  to  the  strength  of  parties  in  the 
House  of  Commons. 

as  Seven  Spiritual  Lords  of  Parliament  consisting  of 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Archbishop  of 
York,  and  five  Bishops  elected  by  the  Archbishops 
and  Bishops  of  England  and  Wales. 

Sixteen  peers  who  have  held  high  judicial  office. 
360 


The  Parliament  Act  of  1911 

The  term  of  office  of  a  Lord  of  Parliament  would 
be  12  years,  one  fourth  as  nearly  as  may  be  of  each 
category  retiring  every  third  year.  .  .  . 

A  Peer  unless  a  Lord  of  Parliament  would  be 
s  eligible  for  election  to  the  House  of  Commons. 

[On  July  20,  1911,  the  Lords  passed  the  Parliament  Bill 
in  a  form  so  much  amended  that  it  was  clear  that  the 
government  would  not  accept  it.] 

22.  Annual  Register,  1911,  p.  175.     [Letter  of  Mr. 
Asquith.] 

10  DOWNING  ST.,  July  20. 

DEAR  MR.  BALFOUR, — I  think  it  is  courteous  and 
right,  before  any  public  decisions  are  announced,  to 
let  you  know  how  we  regard  the  political  situation, 
is  When  the  Parliament  Bill  in  the  form  which  it  has 
now  assumed  returns  to  the  House  of  Commons  we 
shall  be  compelled  to  ask  that  House  to  disagree 
with  the  Lords'  amendments. 

In  the  circumstances,  should  the  necessity  arise, 
20  the  Government  will  advise  the  King  to  exercise  his 
prerogative  to  secure  the  passing  into  law  of  the 
Bill  in  substantially  the  same  form  in  which  it  left 
the  House  of  Commons,  and  his  Majesty  has  been 
pleased  to  signify  that  he  will  consider  it  his  duty  to 
25  accept  and  act  on  that  advice. — 
Yours  sincerely, 

H.  H.  ASQUITH. 

[The  Commons,  of  course,  rejected  the  Lords'  amend- 

361 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

ments  and  sent  the  Bill  back  to  the  Lords,  where  it  was 
accepted  on  Aug.  loth  by  a  vote  of  131  to  114.] 

23.  Annual  Register,  1911,  p.  190.  [Mr.  Asquith, 
Aug.  7th.] 

s  It  was  at  the  King's  strong  desire  and  with  his 
Majesty's  express  leave  that  he  was  able  to  disclose 
communications  hitherto  treated  as  confidential. 
After  referring  to  his  declaration  of  April  14,  1910— 
which  was  communicated  to  King  Edward  VII. » 

10  then  abroad, — and  saying  that  Ministers  would  have 
been  false  to  their  pledges  had  they  gone  into  a 
dissolution,  after  the  new  reign  and  the  break-down 
of  the  Conference,  without  some  definite  under- 
standing, Mr.  Asquith  said  that  the  advice  to  the 

is  King  to  dissolve  was  accompanied  on  November  15, 
1910,  with  a  statement  which  he  read  out  as  follows: 

His  Majesty's  Ministers  cannot  take  the  responsibility 
of  advising  a  dissolution  unless  they  may  understand 
that  in  the  event  of  the  policy  of  the  Government  being 

ao  approved  by  an  adequate  majority  in  the  new  House  of 
Commons  his  Majesty  will  be  ready  to  exercise  his  con- 
stitutional powers,  which  may  involve  the  prerogative  of 
creating  peers,  if  needed,  to  secure  that  effect  shall  be 
given  to  the  decision  of  the  country.  His  Majesty's 

*s  Ministers  are  fully  alive  to  the  importance  of  keeping 
the  name  of  the  King  out  of  the  sphere  of  party  and  elec- 
toral controversy.  They  take  upon  themselves,  as  is 
their  duty,  the  entire'and  exclusive  responsibility  for  the 
policy  which  they  would  place  before  the  electorate.  His 

30  Majesty  will  doubtless  agree  that  it  would  be  inadvisable 

362 


The  Parliament  Act  of  1911 

in  the  interests  of  the  State  that  any  communication  of 
the  intentions  of  the  Crown  should  be  made  public  unless 
and  until  the  actual  occasion  should  arise. 

His  Majesty,  after  discussing  the  matter  in  all 
$  its  bearings,  felt  he  had  no  alternative  but  to  accept 
the  advice  of  the  Government.  .  .  .  The  advice  [Mr. 
Asquith  continued]  was  constitutional;   the  circum- 
stances were  unique,  and  far  stronger  than  in  1832. 
24.  Law  Reports,  the  Public  General  Statutes,   1911. 
10  p.  38.     Statutes,  i  and  2,  Geo.  V.  Ch.  XIII. 

Whereas  it  is  expedient  that  provision  should  be 
made  for  regulating  the  relations  between  the  two 
Houses  of  Parliament: 

And  whereas  it  is  intended  to  substitute  for  the 
is  House  of  Lords  as  it  at  present  exists  a  Second 
Chamber  constituted  on  a  popular  instead  of  hered- 
itary basis,  but  such  substitution  cannot   be  im- 
mediately brought  into  operation: 

And  whereas  provision  will  require  hereafter  to 
ao  be  made  by  Parliament  in  a  measure  effecting  such 
substitution  for  limiting  and  defining  the  powers  of 
the  new  Second  Chamber,  but  it  is  expedient  to 
make  such  provision  as  in  this  act  appears  for  re- 
stricting the  existing  powers  of  the  House  of  Lords : 
as      Be  it  therefore  enacted  ...  as  follows : 

i. — (i)  If  a  Money  Bill,  having  been  passed  by  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  sent  up  to  the  House  of 
Lords  at  least  one  month  before  the  end  of  the  ses- 
sion, is  not  passed  by  the  House  of  Lords  without 
24  363 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

amendment  within  one  month  after  it  is  so  sent  up 
to  that  House,  the  Bill  shall,  unless  the  House  of 
Commons  direct  to  the  contrary,  be  presented  to 
his  Majesty  and  become  an  Act  of  Parliament  on 

s  the  Royal  Assent  being  signified,  notwithstanding 
that  the  House  of  Lords  have  not  consented  to  the 
Bill. 

(3)  There  shall  be  endorsed  on  every  Money  Bill 
when  it  is  sent  up  to  the  House  of  Lords  and  when  it 

10  is  presented  to  his  Majesty  for  assent  the  certifi- 
cate of  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons  signed 
by  him  that  it  is  a  Money  Bill.  .  .  . 

2. — (i)  If  any  Public  Bill  (other  than  a  Money  Bill 
or  a  Bill  containing  any  provision  to  extend  the 

is  maximum  duration  of  Parliament  beyond  five  years) 
is  passed  by  the  House  of  Commons  in  three  suc- 
cessive sessions  (whether  of  the  same  Parliament  or 
not),  and,  having  been  sent  up  to  the  House  of  Lords 
at  least  one  month  before  the  end  of  the  session,  is 

20  rejected  by  the  House  of  Lords  in  each  of  those 
sessions,  that  Bill  shall,  on  its  rejection  for  the  third 
time  by  the  House  of  Lords,  unless  the  House  of 
Commons  direct  to  the  contrary,  be  presented  to 
his  Majesty  and  become  an  Act  of  Parliament  on 

as  the  Royal  Assent  being  signified  thereto,  notwith- 
standing that  the  House  of  Lords  have  not  con- 
sented to  the  Bill :  Provided  that  this  provision  shall 
not  take  effect  unless  two  years  have  elapsed  between 
the  date  of  the  second  reading  in  the  first  of  those 

364 


The  Parliament  Act  of  1911 

sessions  of  the  Bill  in  the  House  of  Commons  and 
the  date  on  which  it  passes  the  House  of  Commons 
in  the  third  of  those  sessions. 

(3)  A  Bill  shall  be  deemed  to  be  rejected  by  the 
s  House  of  Lords  if  it  is  not  passed  by  the  House  of 

Lords  either  without  amendment  or  with  such 
amendments  only  as  may  be  agreed  to  by  both 
Houses. 

(4)  A  Bill  shall  be  deemed  to  be  the  same  Bill  as 
10  a  former  Bill  sent  up  to  the  House  of  Lords  in  the 

preceding  session  if,  when  it  is  sent  up  to  the  House 
of  Lords,  it  is  identical  with  the  former  Bill  or  con- 
tains only  such  alterations  as  are  certified  by  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons  to  be  necessary 

is  owing  to  the  time  which  has  elapsed  since  the  date 
of  the  former  Bill,  or  to  represent  any  amendments 
which  have  been  made  by  the  House  of  Lords  in  the 
former  Bill  in  the  preceding  session,  and  any  amend- 
ments which  are  certified  by  the  Speaker  to  have 

30  been  made  by  the  House  of  Lords  in  the  third  ses- 
sion and  agreed  to  by  the  House  of  Commons  shall 
be  inserted  in  the  Bill  as  presented  for  Royal  Assent 
in  pursuance  of  this  section: 

Provided  that  the  House  of  Commons  may,  if 

35  they  think  fit,  on  the  passage  of  such  a  Bill  through 
the  House  in  the  second  or  third  session  suggest  any 
further  amendments  without  inserting  the  amend- 
ments in  the  Bill,  and  any  such  suggested  amend- 
ments shall  be  considered  by  the  House  of  Lords, 

365 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

and,  if  agreed  to  by  that  House,  shall  be  treated  as 
amendments  made  by  the  House  of  Lords  and  agreed 
to  by  the  House  of  Commons;  but  the  exercise  of 
this  power  by  the  House  of  Commons  shall  not 
s  affect  the  operation  of  this  section  in  the  event  of 
the  Bill  being  rejected  by  the  House  of  Lords. 

7.  Five  years  shall  be  substituted  for  seven  years 
as  the  time  fixed  for  the  maximum  duration  of  Par- 
liament under  the  Septennial  Act,  1715. 


APPENDIX 


CHARTER    OF    LIBERTIES    OF    HENRY    I.       IIOO 

(Latin  text  in  Stubbs,  Select  Charters,  ninth  edition,  pp. 
117-119.  Translation  by  the  editor.) 

Henry,  king  of  the  English,  to  Bishop  Samson  and  Urso 
de  Abetot  and  all  his  barons  and  faithful,  both  French  and 
English,  of  Worcestershire,1  greeting. 

i  Know  that  by  the  mercy  of  God  and  the  common 
counsel  of  the  barons  of  the  whole  kingdom  of  England 
I  have  been  crowned  king  of  said  kingdom;  and  because 
the  kingdom  had  been  oppressed  by  unjust  exactions,  I, 
through  fear  of  God  and  the  love  which  I  have  toward 
you  all,  in  the  first  place  make  the  holy  church  of  God 
free,  so  that  I  will  neither  sell  nor  put  to  farm,  nor  on 
the  death  of  archbishop  or  bishop  or  abbot  will  I  take 
anything  from  the  church's  demesne  or  from  its  men 
until  the  successor  shall  enter  it.  And  I  take  away  all 
the  bad  customs  by  which  the  kingdom  of  England  was 
unjustly  oppressed;  which  bad  customs  I  here  set  down 
in  part: 

2.  If  any  of  my  barons,  earls,  or  others  who  hold  of 
me  shall  have  died,  his  heir  shall  not  buy  back  his  land 

'Copies  were  sent  to  all  the  shires. 
367 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

as  he  used  to  do  in  the  time  of  my  brother,  but  he  shall 
relieve  it  by  a  just  and  lawful  relief.  Likewise  also  the 
men  of  my  barons  shall  relieve  their  lands  from  their 
lords  by  a  just  and  lawful  relief. 

3.  And  if  any  of  my  barons  or  other  men  should  wish 
to  give  his  daughter,  sister,  niece,  or  kinswoman  in  mar- 
riage, let  him  speak  with  me  about  it;  but  I  will  neither 
take  anything  from  him  for  this  permission  nor  prevent 
his  giving  her  unless  he  should  be  minded  to  join  her  to 
my  enemy.     And  if,  upon  the  death  of  a  baron  or  other 
of  my  men,  a  daughter  is  left  as  heir,  I  will  give  her  with 
her  land  by  the  advice  of  my  barons.     And  if,  on  the 
death  of  her  husband,  the  wife  is  left  and  without  chil- 
dren, she  shall  have  her  dowry  and  right  of  marriage,  and 
I  will  not  give  her  to  a  husband  unless  according  to  her 
will. 

4.  But  if  a  wife  be  left  with  children,  she  shall  indeed 
have  her  dowry  and  right  of  marriage  so  long  as  she  shall 
keep  her  body  lawfully,  and  I  will  not  give  her  unless 
according  to  her  will.     And  the  guardian  of  the  land  and 
children  shall  be  either  the  wife  or  another  of  the  relatives 
who  more  justly  ought  to  be.     And  I  command  that  my 
barons  restrain  themselves  similarly  in  dealing  with  the 
sons  and  daughters  or  wives  of  their  men. 

5.  The  common  seigniorage,   which  has  been   taken 
through  the  cities  and  counties,  but  which  was  not  taken 
in  the  time  of  King  Edward,  I  absolutely  forbid  hence- 
forth.    If  any  one,  whether  a  moneyer  or  other,  be  taken 
with  false  money,  let  due  justice  be  done  for  it. 

6.  I  remit  all  pleas  and  all  debts  which  were  owing  to 
my  brother,  except  my  lawful  fixed  revenues  and  except 
those  amounts  which  had  been  agreed  upon  for  the  in- 
heritances of  others  or  for  things  which  more  justly  con- 
cerned others.     And  if  any  one  had  pledged  anything 

368 


Appendix 

for  his  own  inheritance,  I  remit  it;   also  all  reliefs  which 
had  been  agreed  upon  for  just  inheritances. 

7.  And  if  any  of  my  barons  or  men  shall  grow  feeble, 
as  he  shall  give  or  arrange  to  give  his  money,  I  grant  that 
it  be  so  given.     But  if,  prevented  by  arms  or  sickness,  he 
shall  not  have  given  or  arranged  to  give  his  money,  his 
wife,  children,  relatives,  or  lawful  men  shall  distribute  it 
for  the  good  of  his  soul  as  shall  seem  best  to  them. 

8.  If  any  of  my  barons  or  men  commit  a  crime,  he 
shall  not  bind  himself  to  a  payment  at  the  king's  mercy 
as  he  has  been  doing  in  the  time  of  my  father  or  my 
brother;    but  he  shall  make  amends  according  to  the 
extent  of  the  crime  as  he  would  have  done  before  the 
time  of  my  father  in  the  time  of  my  other  predecessors. 
But  if  he  be  convicted  of  treachery  or  heinous  crime,  he 
shall  make  amends  as  is  just. 

9.  I  forgive  all  murders  committed  before  the  day  I 
was  crowned  king;   and  those  which  shall  be  committed 
in  the  future  shall  be  justly  compensated  according  to 
the  law  of  King  Edward. 

10.  By  the  common  consent  of  my  barons  I  have  kept 
in  my  hands  the  forests  as  my  father  had  them. 

11.  To  those  knights  who  render  military  service  for 
their  lands  I  grant  of  my  own  gift  that  the  lands  of  their 
demesne  ploughs  be  free  from  all  payments  and  all  labor, 
so  that,  having  been  released  from  so  great  a  burden,  they 
may  equip  themselves  well  with  horses  and  arms  and  be 
fully  prepared  for  my  service  and  the  defense  of  my 
kingdom. 

12.  I  impose  a  strict  peace  upon  my  whole  kingdom 
.  and  command  that  it  be  maintained  henceforth. 

13.  I  restore  to  you  the  law  of  King  Edward  with 
those  amendments  introduced  into  it  by  my  father  with 
the  advice  of  his  barons. 

369 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

14.  If  any  one,  since  the  death  of  King  William  my 
brother,  has  taken  anything  belonging  to  me  or  to  any 
one  else,  the  whole  is  to  be  quickly  restored  without  fine; 
but  if  any  one  keep  anything  of  it,  he  upon  whom  it  shall 
be  found  shall  pay  me  a  heavy  fine. 

Witnesses  Maurice  bishop  of  London,  and  William 
bishop  elect  of  Winchester,  and  Gerard  bishop  of  Here- 
ford, and  earl  Henry,  and  earl  Simon,  and  Walter  Giffard, 
and  Robert  de  Montfort,  and  Roger  Bigot,  and  Eudo  the 
steward,  and  Robert  son  of  Hamo,  and  Robert  Malet. 
At  London  when  I  was  crowned.  Farewell. 


II 

CONSTITUTIONS    OP    CLARENDON.       1164 


(Latin  text  in  Stubbs,  Select  Charters,  ninth  edition,  pp. 

163-167.  Translation  by  the  editor.) 
From  the  year  of  our  Lord's  incarnation  1164,  the 
fourth  year  of  the  papacy  of  Alexander,  the  tenth  of  the 
most  illustrious  Henry,  king  of  the  English,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  same  king,  was  made  this  remembrance  or 
recognition  of  a  certain  part  of  the  customs,  liberties, 
and  dignities  of  his  predecessors,  that  is  to  say  of  King 
Henry  his  grandfather  and  others,  which  ought  to  be 
observed  and  held  in  the  kingdom.  And  because  of  dis- 
sensions and  discords  which  had  arisen  between  the  clergy 
and  the  lord  king's  justices  and  the  barons  of  the  king- 
dom concerning  the  customs  and  dignities,  this  recogni- 
tion has  been  made  before  the  archbishops  and  bishops 
and  clergy,  and  the  earls  and  barons  and  great  men  of 
the  kingdom.  And  these  same  customs  declared  by  the 

370 


Appendix 

archbishops,  bishops,  earls,  and  barons,  and  by  the  nobler 
and  older  men  of  the  kingdom,  Thomas  archbishop  of 
Canterbury  and  Roger  archbishop  of  York  and  Gilbert 
bishop  of  London  and  Henry  bishop  of  Winchester  and 
Nigel  bishop  of  Ely  and  William  bishop  of  Norwich  and 
Robert  bishop  of  Lincoln  and  Hilary  bishop  of  Chichester 
and  Jocelin  bishop  of  Salisbury  and  Richard  bishop  of 
Chester  and  Bartholomew  bishop  of  Exeter  and  Robert 
bishop  of  Hereford  and  David  bishop  of  St.  David's  and 
Roger  elect  of  Worcester  conceded  and  on  the  word  of 
truth  firmly  promised  by  word  of  mouth  should  be  held 
and  observed  for  the  lord  king  and  his  heirs  in  good  faith 
and  without  subtlety,  these  being  present:  Robert  earl 
of  Leicester,  Reginald  earl  of  Cornwall,  Conan  earl  of 
Brittany,  John  earl  of  Eu,  Roger  earl  of  Clare,  earl  Geof- 
frey de  Mandeville,  Hugh  earl  of  Chester,  William  earl 
of  Arundel,  earl  Patrick,  William  earl  of  Ferrers,  Richard 
de  Luci,  Reginald  de  St.  Valery,  Roger  Bigot,  Reginald  de 
Warenne,  Richer  de  Aquila,  William  de  Braose,  Richard 
de  Camville,  Nigel  de  Mowbray,  Simon  de  Beauchamp, 
Humphrey  de  Bohun,  Matthew  de  Hereford,  Walter  de 
Mayenne,  Manser  Biset  the  steward,  William  Malet, 
William  de  Courcy,  Robert  de  Dunstaville,  Jocelin  de 
Baillol,  William  de  Lanvallei,  William  de  Caisnet,  Geof- 
frey de  Vere,  William  de  Hastings,  Hugh  de  Moreville, 
Alan  de  Neville,  Simon  Fitz  Peter,  William  Maudit  the 
chamberlain,  John  Maudit,  John  Marshall,  Peter  de 
Mara,  and  many  other  great  men  and  nobles  of  the  king- 
dom both  clergy  and  laymen. 

A  certain  part  of  the  customs  and  dignities  which  were 
recognized  is  contained  in  the  present  writing.  Of  which 
part  these  are  the  articles: 

i.  If  a  controversy  arise  between  laymen,  or  between 
laymen  and  clerks,  or  between  clerks  concerning  patron- 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

age  and  presentation  of  churches,  it  shall  be  treated  or 
concluded  in  the  court  of  the  lord  king. 

2.  Churches  of  the  lord  king's  fee  cannot  be  perma- 
nently bestowed  without  his  consent  and  grant. 

3.  Clerks  charged  and  accused  of  any  matter,  sum- 
moned by  the  king's  justice,  shall  come  into  his  court  to 
answer  there  to  whatever  it  shall  seem  to  the  king's  court 
should  be  answered  there ;  and  in  the  church  court  to  what 
it  seems  should  be  answered  there;    however  the  king's 
justice  shall  send  into  the  court  of  holy  Church  for  the 
purpose  of  seeing  how  the  matter  shall  be  treated  there. 
And  if  the  clerk  be  convicted  or  confess,  the  church 
ought  not  to  protect  him  further. 

4.  It  is  not  permitted  the  archbishops,  bishops,  and 
priests  of  the  kingdom  to  leave  the  kingdom  without  the 
lord  king's  permission.     And  if  they  do  leave  they  are  to 
give  security,  if  the  lord  king  please,  that  they  will  seek 
no  evil  or  damage  to  king  or  kingdom  in  going,  in  making 
their  stay,  or  in  returning. 

5.  Excommunicate  persons  ought  not  to  give  security 
for  an  indefinite  time,  or  give  an  oath,  but  only  security 
and  pledge  for  submitting  to  the  judgment  of  the  church 
in  order  that  they  may  be  absolved. 

6.  Laymen  ought  not  to  be  accused  save  by  depend- 
able and  lawful  accusers  and  witnesses  in  the  presence  of 
the  bishop,  yet  so  that  the  archdeacon  lose  not  his  right 
or  anything  which  he  ought  to  have  thence.     And  if 
there  should  be  those  who  are  deemed  culpable,   but 
whom  no  one  wishes  or  dares  to  accuse,  the  sheriff,  upon 
the  bishop's  request,  shall  cause  twelve  lawful  men  of 
the  neighborhood  or  the  vill  to  take  oath  before  the 
bishop  that  they  will  show  the  truth  of  the  matter  ac- 
cording to  their  conscience. 

7.  No  one  who  holds  of  the  king  in  chief  or  any  of  the 

372 


Appendix 

officials  of  his  demesne  is  to  be  excommunicated  or  his 
lands  placed  under  interdict  unless  the  lord  king,  if  he 
be  in  the  land,  or  his  justiciar,  if  he  be  outside  the  king- 
dom, first  gives  his  consent,  that  he  may  do  for  him  what 
is  right:  yet  so  that  what  pertains  to  the  royal  court  be 
concluded  there,  and  what  looks  to  the  church  court  be 
sent  thither  to  be  concluded  there. 

8.  As  to  appeals  which  may  arise,  they  should  pass 
from  the  archdeacon  to  the  bishop,  and  from  the  bishop 
to  the  archbishop.     And  if  the  archbishop  fail  in  furnishing 
justice,  the  matter  should  come  to  the  lord  king  at  the 
last,  that  at  his  command  the  litigation  be  concluded  in 
the  archbishop's  court;    and  so  because  it  should  not 
pass  further  without  the  lord  king's  consent. 

9.  If  litigation  arise  between  a  clerk  and  a  layman  or 
between  a  layman  and  a  clerk  concerning  any  holding 
which  the  clerk  would  bring  to  charitable  tenure  but 
the  layman  to  lay  fee,  it  shall  be  determined  on  the  de- 
cision of  the  king's  chief  justice  by  the  recognition  of 
twelve  lawful  men  in  the  presence  of  the  king's  justice 
himself  whether  the  holding  pertain  to  charitable  tenure 
or  to  lay  fee.     And  if  the  recognition  declare  it  to  be 
charitable  tenure,  it  shall  be  litigated  in  the  church  court, 
but  if  lay  fee,  unless  both  plead  under  the  same  bishop  or 
baron,  the  litigation  shall  be  in  the  royal  court.     But  if 
both  plead  concerning  that  fief  under  the  same  bishop  or 
baron,  it  shall  be  litigated  in  his  court;    yet  so  that  he 
who  was  first  seised  lose  not  his  seisin  on  account  of  the 
recognition  that  was  made,  until  the  matter  be  deter- 
mined by  the  plea. 

10.  If  any  one  who  is  of  a  city,  castle,  borough,  or 
demesne  manor  of  the  king  shall  be  cited  by  archdeacon 
or  bishop  for  any  offense  for  which  he  ought  to  be  held 
answerable  to  them  and  despite  their  summonses  he  re- 

373 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

fuse  to  do  what  is  right,  it  is  fully  permissible  to  place 
him  under  interdict,  but  he  ought  not  to  be  excommuni- 
cated before  the  king's  chief  official  of  that  vill  shall  agree, 
in  order  that  he  may  authoritatively  constrain  him  to 
come  to  his  trial.  But  if  the  king's  official  fail  in  this, 
he  himself  shall  be  in  the  lord  king's  mercy;  and  then 
the  bishop  shall  be  able  to  coerce  the  accused  man  by 
ecclesiastical  authority. 

11.  Archbishops,  bishops,  and  all  ecclesiastics  of  the 
kingdom  who  hold  of  the  king  in  chief  have  their  pos- 
sessions of  the  lord  king  as  barony  and  answer  for  them 
to  the  king's  justices  and  ministers  and  follow  and  do 
all  royal  rights  and  customs;    and  they  ought,  just  like 
other  barons,  to  be  present  at  the  judgments  of  the  lord 
king's  court  along  with  the  barons,  until  it  come  in  judg- 
ment to  loss  of  limbs  or  death. 

12.  When  an  archbishopric  or  bishopric,  or  an  abbey 
or  priory  of  the  king's  demesne  shall  be  vacant,  it  ought 
to  be  in  his  hands,  and  he  shall  assume  its  revenues  and 
expenses  as  pertaining  to  his  demesne.     And  when  the 
time  comes  to  provide  for  the  church,  the  lord  king  should 
notify  the  more  important  clergy  of  the  church,  and  the 
election  should  be  held  in  the  lord  king's  own  chapel 
with  the  assent  of  the  lord  king  and  on  the  advice  of  the 
clergy  of  the  realm  whom  he  has  summoned  for  the  pur- 
pose.    And  there,  before  he  be  consecrated,  let  the  elect 
perform  homage  and  fealty  to  the  lord  king  as  his  liege 
lord  for  life,  limbs,  and  earthly  honor,  saving  his  order. 

13.  If  any  of  the  great  men  of  the  kingdom  should 
forcibly  prevent  archbishop,  bishop,  or  archdeacon  from 
administering  justice  in  which  he  or  his  men  were  con- 
cerned, then  the  lord  king  ought  to  bring  such  an  one  to 
justice.     And  if  it  should  happen  that  any  one  deforce 
the  lord  king  of  his  right,  archbishops,  bishops,  and  arch- 

374 


Appendix 

deacons  ought  to  constrain  him  to  make  satisfaction  to 
the  lord  king. 

14.  Chattels  which  have  been  forfeited  to  the  king  are 
not  to  be  held  in  churches  or  cemeteries  against  the  king's 
justice,  because  they  belong  to  the  king  whether  they  be 
found  inside  churches  or  outside. 

15.  Pleas  concerning  debts,  which  are  owed  on  the 
basis  of  an  oath  or  in  connection  with  which  no  oath  has 
been  taken,  are  in  the  king's  justice. 

1 6.  Sons  of  villeins  should  not  be  ordained  without 
the  consent  of  the  lord  on  whose  land  it  is  ascertained 
they  were  born. 

The  declaration  of  the  above-mentioned  royal  customs 
and  dignities  has  been  made  by  the  archbishops,  bishops, 
earls,  barons,  and  the  nobler  and  older  men  of  the  king- 
dom, at  Clarendon  on  the  fourth  day  before  the  Purifica- 
tion of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  lord  Henry  being  pres- 
ent there  with  the  lord  king  his  father.  There  are,  in- 
deed, many  other  great  customs  and  dignities  of  holy 
mother  church  and  of  the  lord  king  and  barons  of  the 
kingdom,  which  are  not  included  in  this  writing,  but 
which  are  to  be  preserved  to  holy  church  and  to  the  lord 
king  and  his  heirs  and  the  barons  of  the  kingdom,  and 

are  to  be  kept  inviolate  for  ever. 

/ 

III 

ASSIZE    OF    CLARENDON.       Il66 

(Latin  text,  Stubbs,  Select  Charters,  ninth  edition,  pp. 

170-173.    Translation  by  the  editor.) 
Here  begins  the  Assize  of  Clarendon  made  by  King 
Henry  II.,  with  the  assent  of  archbishops,  bishops,  ab- 
bots, earls,  and  barons  of  all  England. 

375 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

1.  In  the  first  place  the  said  King  Henry  ordained  on 
the  advice  of  all  his  barons,  for  preserving  peace  and 
maintaining  justice,  that  inquiry  be  made  through  the 
several  counties  and  through  the  several  hundreds  by 
twelve  more  lawful  men  of  the  hundred  and  by  four  more 
lawful  men  of  each  vill,  upon  oath  that  they  will  tell  the 
truth,  whether  in  their  hundred  or  in  their  vill  there  is 
any  man  cited  or  charged  as  himself  being  a  robber  or 
murderer  or  thief  or  any  one  who  has  been  a  receiver  of 
robbers  or  murderers  or  thieves  since  the  lord  king  was 
king.     And  let  the  justices  inquire  this  before  themselves 
and  the  sheriffs  before  themselves. 

2.  And  he  who  shall  be  found  by  the  oath  of  the  afore- 
said cited  or  charged  as  having  been  a  robber  or  murderer 
or  thief  or  a  receiver  of  them  since  the  lord  king  was  king, 
let  him  be  arrested  and  go  to  the  judgment  of  water,  and 
let  him  swear  that  he  was  not  a  robber  or  murderer  or 
thief  or  a  receiver  of  them  since  the  lord  king  was  king, 
to  the  value  of  five  shillings  so  far  as  he  knows. 

3.  And  if  the  lord  of  him  who  was  arrested  or  his  stew- 
ard or  his  men  demand  him  by  pledge  within  the  third 
day  after  his  arrest,  let  him  be  given  up  and  his  chattels 
until  he  make  his  law. 

4.  And  when  a  robber  or  murderer  or  thief  or  the  re- 
ceivers of  them  be  arrested  through  the  aforesaid  oath, 
if  the  justices  are  not  to  come  quite  soon  into  the  county 
where  the  arrests  have  been  made,  let  the  sheriffs  send 
word  by  some  intelligent  man  to  one  of  the  nearer  jus- 
tices that  such  men  have  been  taken;  and  the  justices 
shall  send  back  word  to  the  sheriffs  where  they  wish  to 
have  the  men  brought  before  them;  and  the  sheriffs  shall 
bring  them  before  the  justices;  and  also  they  shall  bring 
with  them  from  the   hundred  and   the  vill  where  the 
arrests  have  been  made  two  lawful  men  to  carry  the 

376 


Appendix 

record  of  the  county  and  hundred  as  to  why  the  men 
were  arrested,  and  there  before  the  justices  let  them  make 
their  law. 

5.  And  in  the  case  of  those  who  are  arrested  by  the 
aforesaid  oath  of  this  assize  no  one  is  to  have  court  or 
justice  or  chattels  except  the  lord  king  in  his  court  before 
his  justices,  and  the  lord  king  shall  have  all  their  chattels. 
But  as  to  those  who  have  been  arrested  otherwise  than 
by  this  oath,  let  it  be  as  it  is  accustomed  and  ought  to  be. 

6.  And  let  the  sheriffs  who  have  arrested  them  bring 
them  before  the  justice  without  any  other  summons  than 
they  shall  have  from  him.    And  when  robbers,  murderers, 
thieves,  or  their  receivers,  who  have  been  arrested  through 
the  oath  or  otherwise,  are  turned  over  to  the  sheriffs,  they 
are  forthwith  to  receive  them  without  delay. 

7.  And  rn  the  several  counties  where  there  are  no 
jails,  let  them  be  made  in  a  borough  or  in  some  castle 
of  the  king  at  the  king's  expense  and  from  his  wood  if 
it  is  near,  or  from  some  neighboring  wood,  on  the  estima- 
tion of  the  king's  servants,  to  the  end  that  the  sheriffs 
may  keep  in  them  those  who  have  been  arrested  by  the 
officers  whose  function  it  is  to  do  this  and  by  their  ser- 
vants. 

8.  Also  it  is  the  king's  will  that  all  come  to  the  county 
courts  to  make  this  oath,  so  that  no  one  stay  away  on 
account  of  any  immunity  which  he  has  or  court  or  juris- 
diction which  he  has  held ;  but  they  are  to  come  to  make 
this  oath. 

9.  And  let  there  not  be  any  one  within  a  castle  or  out- 
side a  castle,  or  indeed  in  the  honor  of  Wallingford,  who 
shall  refuse  to  let  the  sheriffs  enter  his  court  or  his  land 
to  view  the  frank-pledges  and  to  see  that  all  are  under 
pledges;  and  let  them  be  sent  before  the  sheriffs  under  a 
free  pledge. 

377 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

10.  And  let  no  one  in  the  cities  or  boroughs  have  men 
or  receive  them  into  his  house,  land,  or  jurisdiction,  whom 
he  will  not  undertake  to  produce  before  the  justice  if 
they  are  sought;  or  else  let  him  be  in  frank-pledge. 

n.  And  let  there  be  no  one  in  city  or  borough,  inside 
or  outside  a  castle,  or  in  the  honor  of  Wallingford  who 
shall  deny  entrance  to  the  sheriffs  into  their  land  or 
jurisdiction  for  the  purpose  of  arresting  those  who  have 
been  cited  or  charged  as  being  robbers  or  murderers  or 
thieves  or  the  receivers  of  them,  or  outlaws  or  those  cited 
in  a  matter  touching  the  forest;  but  it  is  commanded  that 
they  help  them  in  making  the  arrest. 

12.  And  if  any  one  be  taken  who  has  the  spoil  of  his 
robbery  or  theft  in  his  possession,  if  he  bear  an  ill  name 
and  have  a  notoriously  bad  reputation,   and  have  no 
warrant,  let  him  not  have  law.     But  if  he  be  not  sus- 
pected on  account  of  what  he  has  in  his  possession,  let 
him  go  to  the  water. 

13.  And  if  any  one,  in  the  presence  of  lawful  men  or 
the  hundreds,  make  confession  of  robbery,  murder,  theft, 
or  the  reception  of  those  committing  them,  and  should 
later  wish  to  deny  it,  let  him  not  have  law. 

14.  Moreover  the  lord  king  wills  that  those  who  make 
their  law  and  are  quit  thereby,  if  they  have  a  very  bad 
reputation  and  are  publicly  and  scandalously  decried  on 
the  testimony  of  many  lawful  men,  shall  forswear  the 
king's  lands,  to  the  effect  that  within  eight  days  they 
shall  cross  the  sea  unless  the  wind  detain  them;    and 
with  the  first  wind  which  they  have  thereafter  they  shall 
cross  the  sea,  and  they  shall  never  return  to  England 
unless  by  the  grace  of  the  lord  king;  and  there  let  them 
be  outlaws,  and  if  they  return  let  them  be  taken  as 
outlaws. 

15.  And  the  lord  king  forbids  that  any  waif,  that  is 

378 


Appendix 

to  say  a  vagrant  or  unknown  person,  be  given  lodging 
with  any  one  except  in  a  borough;  and  he  is  not  to  be 
lodged  there  except  for  one  night,  unless  he  be  sick  while 
there  or  his  horse,  so  that  he  is  able  to  show  an  evident 
excuse. 

1 6.  And  if  he  should  stay  there  more  than  one  night, 
he  is  to  be  arrested  and  held  until  his  lord  come  to  stand 
pledge  for  him,  or  until  he  himself  secure  good  pledges; 
and  he  who  lodged  him  is  also  to  be  arrested. 

17.  And  if  a  sheriff  send  word  to  another  sheriff  that 
men  have  fled  from  his  county  to  the  other  county  be- 
cause of  robbery,  murder,  theft,  or  the  reception  of  those 
committing  them,  or  for  outlawry  or  an  offense  against 
the  king's  forest,  let  the  latter  sheriff  arrest  them;   and 
indeed  if  he  find  out  of  himself  or  through  others  that 
such  men  have  fled  into  his  county,  he  is  to  arrest  and 
hold  them  until  he  have  sure  pledges  for  them. 

1 8.  And  let  all  the  sheriffs  make  a  list  of  all  fugitives 
who  have  fled  from  their  counties;   and  let  them  do  this 
before  the  county  courts,  and  they  shall  bring  the  names  of 
these  men  in  writing  before  the  justices  when  first  they 
come  to  them,  in  order  that  they  may  be  sought  through- 
out all  England  and  their  chattels  seized  for  the  benefit 
of  the  king. 

19.  And  the  lord  king  wills  that  as  soon  as  the  sheriffs 
receive  the  summonses  of  the  itinerant  justices  to  be  be- 
fore them  with  their  county  courts,  they  shall  assemble 
their  county  courts  and  find  out  all  who  have  recently 
come  into  their  counties,  since  this  assize;   and  they  are 
to  send  these  away  under  pledges  to  appear  before  the 
justices,  or  else  keep  them  in  custody  until  the  justices 
come  to  them,  and  then  produce  them  before  the  justices. 

20.  Also  the  lord  king  forbids  monks  or  canons  or  any 
monastic  house  to  receive  any  of  the  lower  class  of  people 

2S  -      379 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

as  monk,  canon,  or  brother  until  his  reputation  be  known, 
unless  he  be  sick  unto  death. 

21.  Moreover  the  lord  king  forbids  that  any  one  in  all 
England  should  receive  into  his  land  or  jurisdiction  or 
any  house  of  his,  any  of  the  sect  of  those  apostates  who 
have  been  excommunicated  and  branded  at  Oxford.    And 
if  any  one  receives  them  he  shall  be  in  the  mercy  of  the 
lord  king;  and  the  house  in  which  they  were  shall  be  car- 
ried outside  the  vill  and  burned.     And  every  sheriff  shall 
take  oath  to  maintain  this,  and  he  shall  cause  to  take  the 
same  oath  all  his  ministers  and  the  baron's  stewards,  and 
all  the  knights  and  freeholders  of  the  counties. 

22.  And  the  lord  king  wills  that  this  assize  be  held  in 
his  kingdom  as  long  as  it  shall  please  him. 


M 


IV 

AGNA    CARTA. 


(Latin  text  and  translation  in  McKechnie,  Magna  Carta, 

second  edition,  pp.  185-479,  passim.) 
John,  by  the  grace  of  God,  king  of  England,  lord  of 
Ireland,  duke  of  Normandy  and  Aquitaine,  and  count 
of  Anjou,  to  the  archbishops,  bishops,  abbots,  earls, 
barons,  justiciars,  foresters,  sheriffs,  stewards,  servants, 
and  to  all  his  bailiffs  and  liege  subjects,  greeting.  Know 
that,  having  regard  to  God  and  for  the  salvation  of  our 
soul,  and  those  of  all  our  ancestors  and  heirs,  and  unto 
the  honor  of  God  and  the  advancement  of  holy  church, 
and  for  the  reform  of  our  realm,  by  advice  of  our  vener- 
able fathers,  Stephen  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  primate 
of  all  England  and  cardinal  of  the  holy  Roman  Church, 
Henry  archbishop  of  Dublin,  William  of  London,  Peter 

380 


Appendix 

of  Winchester,  Jocelyn  of  Bath  and  Glastonbury,  Hugh 
of  Lincoln,  Walter  of  Worcester,  William  of  Coventry, 
Benedict  of  Rochester,  bishops;  of  master  Pandulf,  sub- 
deacon  and  member  of  the  household  of  our  lord  the  Pope, 
of  brother  Aymeric  (master  of  the  Knights  of  the  Temple 
in  England),  and  of  the  illustrious  men  William  Marshall 
earl  of  Pembroke,  William  earl  of  Salisbury,  William  earl 
Warenne,  William  earl  of  Arundel,  Alan  of  Galloway 
(constable  of  Scotland),  Waren  Fitz  Gerald,  Peter  Fitz 
Herbert,  Hubert  de  Burgh  (seneschal  of  Poitou),  Hugh 
de  Neville,  Matthew  Fitz  Herbert,  Thomas  Basset,  Alan 
Basset,  Philip  d'Aubigny,  Robert  of  Roppesley,  John 
Marshall,  John  Fitz  Hugh,  and  others,  our  liegemen. 

1.  In  the  first  place  we  have  granted  to  God,  and  by 
this  our  present  charter  confirmed  for  us  and  our  heirs 
for  ever  that  the  English  church  shall  be  free,  and  shall 
have  her  rights  entire,  and  her  liberties  inviolate;  and  we 
will  that  it  be  thus  observed;    which  is  apparent  from 
this  that  the  freedom  of  elections,  which  is  reckoned  most 
important  and  very  essential  to  the  English  church,  we, 
of  our  pure  and  unconstrained  will,  did  grant,  and  did  by 
our  charter  confirm  and  did  obtain  the  ratification  of  the 
same  from  our  lord,  Pope  Innocent  HI.,  before  the  quarrel 
arose  between  us  and  our  barons :  and  this  we  will  observe, 
and  our  will  is  that  it  be  observed  in  good  faith  by  our 
heirs  for  ever.     We  have  also  granted  to  all  freemen  of 
our  kingdom,  for  us  and  our  heirs  for  ever,  all  the  under- 
written liberties,  to  be  had  and  held  by  them  and  their 
heirs,  of  us  and  our  heirs  for  ever. 

2.  If  any  of  our  earls  or  barons,  or  others  holding  of 
us  in  chief  by  military  service  shall  have  died,  and  at  the 
time  of  his  death  his  heir  shall  be  of  full  age  and  owe 
"relief"  he  shall  have  his  inheritance  on  payment  of  the 
ancient  relief,  namely  the  heir  or  heirs  of  an  earl,  £100 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

for  a  whole  earl's  barony;  the  heir  or  heirs  of  a  baron, 
£100  for  a  whole  barony;  the  heir  or  heirs  of  a  knight, 
1005.  at  most  for  a  whole  knight's  fee;  and  whoever  owes 
less  let  him  give  less,  according  to  the  ancient  custom  of 
fiefs. 

3.  If,  however,  the  heir  of  any  of  the  aforesaid  has 
been  under  age  and  in  wardship,  let  him  have  his  inheri- 
tance without  relief  and  without  fine  when  he  comes  of 
age. 

4.  The  guardian  of  the  land  of  an  heir  who  is  thus  under 
age,  shall  take  from  the  land  of  J:he  heir  nothing  but 
reasonable  produce,  reasonable  customs,  and  reasonable 
services,  and  that  without  destruction  or  waste  of  men 
or  goods;  and  if  we  have  committed  the  wardship  of  the 
lands  of  any  such  minor  to  the  sheriff,  or  to  any  other 
who  is  responsible  to  us  for  its  issues,  and  he  has  made 
destruction  or  waste  of  what  he  holds  in  wardship,  we 
will  take  of  him  amends,  and  the  land  shall  be  committed 
to  two  lawful  and  discreet  men  of  that  fee,  who  shall  be 
responsible  for  the  issues  to  us  or  to  him  to  whom  we 
shall  assign  them;  and  if  we  have  given  or  sold  the  ward- 
ship of  any  such  land  to  any  one  and  he  has  therein  made 
destruction  or  waste,  he  shall  lose  that  wardship,  and  it 
shall  be  transferred  to  two  lawful  and  discreet  men  of 
that  fief,  who  shall  -be  responsible  to  us  in  like  manner 
as  aforesaid. 

5.  The  guardian,  moreover,  so  long  as  he  has  the  ward- 
ship of  the  land,  shall  keep  up  the  houses,  parks,  fish- 
ponds, stanks,  mills,  and  other  things  pertaining  to  the 
land,  out  of  the  issues  of  the  same  land;    and  he  shall 
restore  to  the  heir,  when  he  has  come  to  full  age,  all  his 
land,  stocked  with  ploughs  and  "waynage,"  according 
as  the  season  of  husbandry  shall  require,  and  the  issues 
of  the  land  can  reasonably  bear. 

382 


Appendix 

6.  Heirs  shall  be  married  without  disparagement,  yet 
so  that  before  the  marriage  takes  place  the  nearest  in 
blood  to  that  heir  shall  have  notice. 

7.  A  widow,  after  the  death  of  her  husband,  shall  forth- 
with and  without  difficulty  have  her  marriage  portion 
and  inheritance ;  nor  shall  she  give  anything  for  her  dower, 
or  for  her  marriage  portion,  or  for  the  inheritance  which 
her  husband  and  she  held  on  the  day  of  the  death  of  that 
husband;   and  she  may  remain  in  the  house  of  her  hus- 
band for  forty  days  after  his  death,  within  which  time 
her  dower  shall  be  assigned  to  her. 

8.  No  widow  shall  be  compelled  to  many,  so  long  as 
she  prefers  to  live  without  a  husband;   provided  always 
that  she  gives  security  not  to  marry  without  our  con- 
sent, if  she  holds  of  us,  or  without  the  consent  of  the  lord 
of  whom  she  holds,  if  she  holds  of  another. 

9.  Neither  we  nor  our  bailiffs  shall  seize  any  land  or 
rent  for  any  debt,  so  long  as  the  chattels  of  the  debtor 
are  sufficient  to  repay  the  debt;   nor  shall  the  sureties  of 
the  debtor  be  distrained  so  long  as  the  principal  debtor 
is  able  to  satisfy  the  debt;    and  if  the  principal  debtor 
shall  fail  to  pay  the  debt,  having  nothing  wherewith  to 
pay  it,  then  the  sureties  shall  answer  for  the  debt;   and 
let  them  have  the  lands  and  rents  of  the  debtor,  if  they 
desire  them,  until  they  are  indemnified  for  the  debt  which 
they  have  paid  for  him,  unless  the  principal  debtor  can 
show  proof  that  he  is  discharged  thereof  as  against  the 
said  sureties 

10.  If  one  who  has  borrowed  from  the  Jews  any  sum, 
great  or  small,  die  before  that  loan  can  be  repaid,  the 
debt  shall  not  bear  interest  while  the  heir  is  under  age, 
of  whomsoever  he  may  hold;  and  if  the  debt  fall  into  our 
hands,  we  will  not  take  anything  except  the  principal 
sum  contained  in  the  bond. 

383 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

11.  And  if  any  one  die  indebted  to  the  Jews,  his  wife 
shall  have  her  dower  and  pay  nothing  of  that  debt;  and 
if  any  children  of  the  deceased  are  left  under  age,  neces- 
saries shall  be  provided  for  them  in  keeping  with  the 
holding  of  the  deceased;  and  out  of  the  residue  the  debt 
shall  be  paid,  reserving,  however,  service  due  to  feudal 
lords;   in  like  manner  let  it  be  done  touching  debts  due 
to  others  than  Jews. 

12.  No  scutage  nor  aid  shall  be  imposed  on  our  king- 
dom, unless  by  common  counsel  of  our  kingdom,  except 
for  ransoming  our  person,  for  making  our  eldest  son  a 
knight,  and  for  once  marrying  our  eldest  daughter;   and 
for  these  there  shall  not  be  levied  more  than  a  reasonable 
aid.     In  like  manner  it  shall  be  done  concerning  aids 
from  the  city  of  London. 

13.  And  the  city  of  London  shall  have  all  its  ancient 
liberties  and  free  customs,  as  well  by  land  as  by  water; 
furthermore,  we  decree  and  grant  that  all  other  cities, 
boroughs,  towns,  and  ports  shall  have  all  their  liberties 
and  free  customs. 

14.  And  for  obtaining  the  common  counsel  of  the  king- 
dom anent  the  assessing  of  an  aid  (except  in  the  three 
cases  aforesaid)  or  of  a  scutage,  we  will  cause  to  be  sum- 
moned the  archbishops,  bishops,  abbots,  earls,  and  greater 
barons,  severally  by  our  letters;   and  we  will  moreover 
cause  to  be  summoned  generally,  through  our  sheriffs  and 
bailiffs,  all  others  who  hold  of  us  in  chief,  for  a  fixed  date, 
namely,  after  the  expiry  of  at  least  forty  days,  and  at  a 
fixed  place;   and  in  all  letters  of  such  summons  we  will 
specify  the  reason  of  the  summons.     And  when  the  sum- 
mons has  thus  been  made,  the  business  shall  proceed 
on  the  day  appointed,  according  to  the  counsel  of  such 
as  are  present,  although  not  all  who  were  summoned  have 
come. 

384 


Appendix 

15.  We  will  not  for  the  future   grant  to   any  one 
license  to  take  an  aid  from  his  own  free  tenants,  ex- 
cept   to  ransom   his  body,  to  make  his  eldest  son  a 
knight,  and  once  to  marry  his  eldest  daughter;   and  on 
each  of  these   occasions  there  shall  be  levied  only  a 
reasonable  aid. 

1 6.  No  one  shall   be  distrained  for   performance  of 
greater  service  for  a  knight's  fee,  or  for  any  other  free 
tenement,  than  is  due  therefrom. 

17.  Common  pleas  shall  not  follow  our  court,  but  shall 
be  held  in  some  fixed  place. 

1 8.  Inquests  of  novel  disseisin,  of  mart  d' ancestor,  and 
of  darrein  presentment,  shall  not  be  held  elsewhere  than 
in  their  own  county  courts  and  that  in  manner  follow- 
ing,— We,  or,  if  we  should  be  out  of  the  realm,  our  chief 
justiciar,  will  send  two  justiciars  through  every  county 
four  timer  a  year,  who  shall,  along  with  four  knights  of 
the  county  chosen  by  the  county,  hold  the  said  assize 
in  the  county  court,  on  the  day  and  in  the  place  of  meet- 
ing of  that  court. 

19.  And  if  any  of  the  said  assizes  cannot  be  taken  on 
the  day  of  the  county  court,  let  there  remain  of  the 
knights  and  freeholders,  who  were  present  at  the  county 
court  on  that  day,  as  many  as  may  be  required  for  the 
efficient  making  of  judgments,  according  as  the  business 
be  more  or  less. 

20.  A  freeman  shall  not  be  amerced  for  a  slight  offense, 
except  in  accordance  with  the  degree  of  the  offense;  and 
for  a  grave  offense  he  shall  be  amerced  in  accordance 
with  the  gravity  of  the  offense,  yet  saving  always  his 
"  contenement " ;   and  a  merchant  in  the  same  way,  sav- 
ing his  "merchandise";    and  a  villein  shall  be  amerced 
in  the  same  way,  saving  his  "wainage" — if  they  have 
fallen  into  our  mercy:  and  none  of  the  aforesaid  amerce- 

385 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

ments  shall  be  imposed  except  by  the  oath  of  honest  men 
of  the  neighborhood. 

21.  Earls   and   barons   shall   not   be   amerced   except 
through  their  peers,  and  only  in  accordance  with  the 
degree  of  the  offense. 

22.  A  clerk  shall  not  be  amerced  in  respect  of  his  lay 
holding  except  after  the  manner  of  the  others  aforesaid; 
further,  he  shall  not  be  amerced  in  accordance  with  the 
extent  of  his  ecclesiastical  benefice. 

23.  No   village  or  individual   shall   be   compelled   to 
make  bridges  at  river-banks,  except  those  who  from  of  old 
were  legally  bound  to  do  so. 

24.  No  sheriff,  constable,  coroners,  or  others  of  our 
bailiffs,  shall  hold  pleas  of  our  Crown. 

25.  All  counties,  hundreds,  wapentakes,  and  trithings 
(except  our  demesne  manors)  shall  remain  at  the  old  rents, 
and  without  any  additional  payment. 

26.  If  any  one  holding  of  us  a  lay  fief  shall  die,  and 
our  sheriff  or  bailiff  shall  exhibit  our  letters  patent  of 
summons  for  a  debt  which  the  deceased  owed  to  us,  it 
shall  be  lawful  for  our  sheriff  or  bailiff  to  attach  and 
catalogue  chattels  of  the  deceased,  found  upon  the  lay 
fief,  to  the  value  of  that  debt,  at  the  sight  of  law-worthy 
men,  provided  always  that  nothing  whatever  be  thence 
removed  until  the  debt  which  is  evident  shall  be  fully 
paid  to  us;   and  the  residue  shall  be  left  to  the  executors 
to  fulfil  the  will  of  the  deceased;   and  if  there  be  nothing 
due  from  him  to  us,  all  the  chattels  shall  go  to  the  de- 
ceased, saving  to  his  wife  and  children  their  reasonable 
shares. 

27.  If  any  freeman  shall  die  intestate,  his  chattels  shall 
be  distributed  by  the  hands  of  his  nearest  kinsfolk  and 
friends,  under  supervision  of  the  church,  saving  to  every 
one  the  debts  which  the  deceased  owed  to  him. 

386 


Appendix 

28.  No  constable  or  other  bailiff  of  ours  shall  take 
corn  or  other  provisions  from  any  one  without  immediate- 
ly tendering  money  therefor,  unless  he  can  have  postpone- 
ment thereof  by  permission  of  the  seller. 

29.  No   constable   shall   compel   any   knight   to   give 
money  in  lieu  of  castle-guard,  when  he  is  willing  to  per- 
form it  in  his  own  person,  or  (if  he  cannot  do  it  from 
any  reasonable  cause)  then  by  another  responsible  man. 
Further,  if  we  have  led  or  sent  him  upon  military  service, 
he  shall  be  relieved  from  guard  in  proportion  to  the  time 
during  which  he  has  been  on  service  because  of  us. 

30.  No  sheriff  or  bailiff  of  ours,  or  other  person,  shall 
take  the  horses  or  carts  of  any  freeman  for  transport  duty, 
against  the  will  of  the  said  freeman. 

31.  Neither  we  nor  our  bailiffs  shall  take,   for  our 
castles  or  for  any  other  work  of  ours,  wood  which  is  not 
ours,  against  the  will  of  the  owner  of  that  wood. 

32.  We  will  not  retain  beyond  one  year  and  one  day, 
the  lands  of  those  who  have  been  convicted  of  felony,  and 
the  lands  shall  thereafter  be  handed  over  to  the  lords  of 
the  fiefs. 

33.  All  kiddles  for  the  future  shall  be  removed  alto- 
gether from  Thames  and  Medway,  and  throughout  all 
England,  except  upon  the  seashore. 

34.  The  writ  which  is  called  prcecipe  shall  not  for  the 
future   be  issued  to   any  one,  regarding   any  tenement 
whereby  a  freeman  may  lose  his  court. 

35.  Let  there  be  one  measure  of  wine  throughout  our 
whole  realm;   and  one  measure  of  ale;   and  one  measure 
of  corn,  to  wit,  "the  London  quarter";    and  one  width 
of  cloth  (whether  dyed,  or  russet,  or  "halberget"),  to 
wit,  two  ells  within  the  selvages;   of  weights  also  let  it 
be  as  of  measures. 

36.  Nothing  in  future  shall  be  given  or  taken  for  a 

387 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

writ  of  inquisition  of  life  or  limbs,  but  freely  it  shall  be 
granted,  and  never  denied. 

37.  If  any  one  holds  of  us  by  fee-farm,  by  socage,  or 
by  burgage,  and  holds  also  land  of  another  lord  by  knight's 
service,  we  will  not  (by  reason  of  that  fee-farm,  socage,  or 
burgage)  have  the  wardship  of  the  heir,  or  of  such  land 
of  his  as  is  of  the  fief  of  that  other;   nor  shall  we  have 
wardship  of  that  fee-farm,  socage,  or  burgage,  unless  such 
fee-farm  owes  knight's  service.     We  will  not  by  reason  of 
any  small  serjeanty  which  any  one  may  hold  of  us  by  the 
service  of  rendering  to  us  knives,  arrows,  or  the  like,  have 
wardship  of  his  heir  or  of  the  land  which  he  holds  of  an- 
other lord  by  knight's  service. 

38.  No  bailiff  for  the  future  shall,  upon  his  own  unsup- 
ported complaint,  put  any  one  to  his  "law,"  without 
credible  witnesses  brought  for  this  purpose. 

39.  No  freeman  shall  be  taken  or  imprisoned  or  dis- 
seised or  exiled  or  in  any  way  destroyed,  nor  will  we  go 
upon  him  nor  send  upon  him,  except  by  the  lawful  judg- 
ment of  his  peers  or  by  the  law  of  the  land. 

40.  To  no  one  will  we  sell,  to  no  one  will  we  refuse  or 
delay,  right  or  justice. 

41.  All  merchants  shall  have  safe  and  secure  exit  from 
England,  and  entry  to  England,  with  the  right  to  tarry 
there  and  to  move  about  as  well  by  land  as  by  water,  for 
buying  and  selling  by  the  ancient  and  right  customs,  quit 
from  all  evil  tolls,  except  (in  time  of  war)  such  merchants 
as  are  of  the  land  at  war  with  us.     And  if  such  are  found 
in  our  land  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  they  shall  be  de- 
tained, without  injury  to  their  bodies  or  goods,  until  in- 
formation be  received  by  us,  or  by  our  chief  justiciar,  how 
the  merchants  of  our  land  found  in  the  land  at  war  with 
us  are  treated;  and  if  our  men  are  safe  there,  the  others 
shall  be  safe  in  our  land. 

388 


Appendix 

42.  It  shall  be  lawful  in  future  for  any  one  (excepting 
always  those  imprisoned  or  outlawed  in  accordance  with 
the  law  of  the  kingdom,  and  natives  of  any  country  at 
war  with  us,  and  merchants,  who  shall  be  treated  as  is 
above  provided)  to  leave  our  kingdom  and  to  return, 
safe  and  secure  by  land  and  water,  except  for  a  short 
period  in  time  of  war,  on  grounds  of  public  policy — re- 
serving always  the  allegiance  due  to  us. 

43.  If  any  one  holding  of  some  escheat  (such  as  the 
honor  of  Wallingford,  Nottingham,  Boulogne,  Lancaster, 
or  of  other  escheats  which  are  in  our  hands  and  are 
baronies)  shall  die,  his  heir  shall  give  no  other  relief,  and 
perform  no  other  service  to  us  than  he  would  have  done 
to  the  baron,  if  that  barony  had  been  in  the  baron's  hand; 
and  we  shall  hold  it  in  the  same  manner  in  which  the 
baron  held  it. 

44.  Men  who  dwell  without  the  forest  need  not  hence- 
forth come  before  our  justiciars  of  the  forest  upon  a  gen- 
eral summons,  except  those  who  are  impleaded,  or  who 
have  become  sureties  for  any  person  or  persons  attached 
for  forest  offenses. 

45.  We  will  appoint  as  justices,  constables,  sheriffs, 
or  bailiffs  only  such  as  know  the  law  of  the  realm  and 
mean  to  observe  it  well. 

46.  All  barons  who  have  founded  abbeys,  concerning 
which  they  hold  charters  from  the  kings  of  England,  or 
of  which  they  have  long-continued  possession,  shall  have 
the  wardship  of  them,  when  vacant,  as  they  ought  to 
have. 

47.  All  forests  that  have  been  made  such  in  our  time 
shall  forthwith  be  disafforested;  and  a  similar  course  shall 
be  followed  with  regard  to  river-banks  that  have  been 
placed  "in  defense"  by  us  in  our  time. 

48.  All  evil  customs  connected  with  forests  and  warrens, 

389 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

foresters  and  warreners,  sheriffs  and  their  officers,  river- 
banks  and  their  wardens,  shall  immediately  be  inquired 
into  in  each  county  by  twelve  sworn  knights  of  the  same 
county  chosen  by  the  honest  men  of  the  same  county,  and 
shall,  within  forty  days  of  the  said  inquest,  be  utterly 
abolished,  so  as  never  to  be  restored,  provided  always 
that  we  previously  have  intimation  thereof,  or  our  justi- 
ciar,  if  we  should  not  be  in  England. 

49.  We    will    immediately    restore    all    hostages    and 
charters  delivered  to  us  by  Englishmen,  as  sureties  of  the 
peace  or  of  faithful  service. 

50.  We  will  entirely  remove  from  their  bailiwicks,  the 
relations  of  Gerard  of  Athe"e  (so  that  in  future  they  shall 
have  no  bailiwick  in  England) ;    namely,   Engelard  of 
Cigogne',  Peter,  Guy,  and  Andrew  of   Chanceaux,  Guy 
of   Cigogne',    Geoffrey  of   Martigny  with   his   brothers, 
Philip  Mark  with  his  brothers  and  his  nephew  Geoffrey, 
and  the  whole  brood  of  the  same. 

51.  As  soon  as  peace  is  restored,  we  will  banish  from 
the   kingdom   all   foreign -born   knights,  cross -bowmen, 
Serjeants,  and  mercenary  soldiers,  who  have  come  with 
horses  and  arms  to  the  kingdom's  hurt. 

52.  If  any  one  has  been  dispossessed  or  removed  by 
us,  without  the  legal  judgment  of  his  peers,  from  his  lands, 
castles,  franchises,  or  from  his  right,  we  will  immediately 
restore  them  to  him;    and  if  a  dispute  arise  over  this, 
then  let  it  be  decided  by  the  five-and-twenty  barons  of 
whom  mention  is  made  below  in  the  clause  for  securing 
the  peace.     Moreover,   for  all  those   possessions,   from 
which  any  one  has,  without  the  lawful  judgment  of  his 
peers,  been  disseised  or  removed,  by  our  father,  King 
Henry,  or  by  our  brother,  King  Richard,  and  which  we 
retain  in  our  hand  (or  which  are  possessed  by  others,  to 
whom  we  are  bound  to  warrant  them)  we  shall  have 

39° 


Appendix 

respite  until  the  usual  term  of  crusaders;  excepting  those 
things  about  which  a  plea  has  been  raised,  or  an  inquest 
made  by  our  order,  before  our  taking  of  the  cross;  but 
as  soon  as  we  return  from  our  expedition  (or  if  perchance 
we  desist  from  the  expedition)  we  will  immediately  grant 
full  justice  therein. 

53.  We  shall  have,  moreover,  the  same  respite  and  in 
the  same  manner  in  rendering  justice  concerning  the  dis- 
afforestation  or  retention  of  those  forests  which  Henry 
our  father  and  Richard  our  brother  afforested,  and  con- 
cerning the  wardship  of  lands  which  are  of  the  fief  of 
another  (namely,  such  wardships  as  we  have  hitherto 
had  by  reason  of  a  fief  which  any  one  held  of  us  by  knight's 
service),  and  concerning  abbeys  founded  on  other  fiefs 
than  our  own,  in  which  the  lord  of  the  fief  claims  to  have 
right;   and  when  we  have  returned,  or  if  we  desist  from 
our  expedition,  we  will  immediately  grant  full  justice  to 
all  who  complain  of  such  things. 

54.  No  one  shall  be  arrested  or  imprisoned  upon  the 
appeal  of  a  woman,  for  the  death  of  any  other  than  her 
husband. 

55.  All  fines  made  with  us  unjustly  and  against  the 
law  of  the  land,  and  all  amercements  imposed  unjustly 
and  against  the  law  of  the  land,  shall  be  entirely  remitted, 
or  else  it  shall  be  done  concerning  them  according  to  the 
decision  of  the  five-and-twenty  barons  of  whom  mention 
is  made  below  in  the  clause  for  securing  the  peace,  or  ac- 
cording to  the  judgment  of  the  majority  of  the  same, 
along  with  the  aforesaid  Stephen,  archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, if  he  can  be  present,  and  such  others  as  he  may 
wish  to   bring   with   him   for   this   purpose,  and   if  he 
cannot  be  present  the  business  shall  nevertheless  pro- 
ceed without  him,  provided  always  that  if  any  one  or 
more  of  the  aforesaid  five-and-twenty  barons  are  in  a 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

similar  suit,  they  shall  be  removed  as  far  as  concerns 
this  particular  judgment,  others  being  substituted  in 
their  places  after  having  been  selected  by  the  rest  of 
the  same  five-and-twenty  for  this  purpose  only,  and  after 
having  been  sworn. 

56.  If  we  have  disseised  or  removed  Welshmen  from 
lands  or  liberties,  or  other  things,  without  the  legal  judg- 
ment of  their  peers  in  England  or  in  Wales,  they  shall 
be  immediately  restored  to  them;   and  if  a  dispute  arise 
over  this,  then  let  it  be  decided  in  the  marches  by  the 
judgment  of  their  peers;    for  tenements  in  England  ac- 
cording to  the  law  of  England,  for  tenements  in  Wales 
according  to  the  law  of  Wales,  and  for  tenements  in  the 
marches  according  to  the  law  of  the  marches.     Welsh- 
men shall  do  the  same  to  us  and  ours. 

57.  Further,  for  all  those  possessions  from  which  any 
Welshman  has,  without  the  lawful  judgment  of  his  peers, 
been  disseised  or  removed  by  King  Henry  our  father  or 
King  Richard  our  brother,  and  which  wre  retain  in  our 
hand  (or  which  are  possessed  by  others,  to  whom  we  are 
bound  to  warrant  them)  we  shall  have  respite  until  the 
usual  term  of  crusaders;    excepting  those  things  about 
which  a  plea  has  been  raised  or  an  inquest  made  by  our 
order  before  we  took  the  cross;  but  as  soon  as  we  return 
(or  if  perchance  we  desist  from  our  expedition),  we  will 
immediately  grant  full  justice  in  accordance  with  the 
laws    of    the    Welsh    and   in   relation   to    the    foresaid 
regions. 

58.  We  will  immediately  give  up  the  son  of  Llywelyn 
and  all  the  hostages  of  Wales,  and  the  charters  delivered 
to  us  as  security  for  the  peace. 

59.  We  will  do  towrard  Alexander,  King  of  Scots,  con- 
cerning the  return  of  his  sisters  and  his  hostages,  and 
concerning  his  franchises,   and  his  right,   in  the  same 

392 


Appendix 

manner  as  we  shall  do  toward  our  other  barons  of  Eng- 
land, unless  it  ought  to  be  otherwise  according  to  the 
charters  which  we  hold  from  William  his  father,  formerly 
King  of  Scots;  and  this  shall  be  according  to  the  judgment 
of  his  peers  in  our  court. 

60.  Moreover,  all  these  aforesaid  customs  and  liber- 
ties, the  observance  of  which  we  have  granted  in  our 
kingdom  as    far  as  pertains    to   us  toward  our  men, 
shall    be    observed    by   all    of    our    kingdom,    as    well 
clergy  as  laymen,  as  far  as  pertains   to   them   toward 
their  men. 

61.  Since,  moreover,  for  God  and  the  amendment  of 
our  kingdom  and  for  the  better  allaying  of  the  quarrel 
that  has  arisen  between  us  and  our  barons,  we  have 
granted  all  these  concessions,  desirous  that  they  should 
enjoy  them  in  complete  and  firm  endurance  for  ever,  we 
give  and  grant  to  them  the  underwritten  security,  name- 
ly, that  the  barons  choose  five-and-twenty  barons  of  the 
kingdom,  whomsoever  they  will,  who  shall  be  bound  with 
all  their  might,  to  observe  and  hold,  and  cause  to  be  ob- 
served, the  peace  and  liberties  we  have  granted  and  con- 
firmed to  them  by  this  our  present  Charter,  so  that  if  we, 
or  our  justiciar,  or  our  bailiffs  or  any  one  of  our  officers, 
shall  in  anything  be  at  fault  toward  any  one,  or  shall  have 
broken  any  one  of  the  articles  of  the  peace  or  of  this 
security,  and  the  offense  be  notified  to  four  barons  of  the 
foresaid  five-and-twenty,  the  said  four  barons  shall  re- 
pair to  us  (or  our  justiciar,  if  we  are  out  of  the  realm) 
and,    laying    the    transgression    before    us,    petition    to 
have  that  transgression  redressed  without  delay.      And 
if  we  shall  not  have  corrected  the  transgression  (or,  in 
the  event  of  our  being  out  of  the  realm,  if  our  justiciar 
shall  not  have  corrected  it)  within  forty  days,  reckoning 
from  the  time  it  has  been  intimated  to  us  (or  to  our 

393 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

justiciar,  if  we  should  be  out  of  the  realm),  the  four  barons 
aforesaid  shall  refer  that  matter  to  the  rest  of  the  five- 
and-twenty  barons,  and  those  five-and-twenty  barons 
shall,  together  with  the  community  of  the  whole  land, 
distrain  and  distress  us  in  all  possible  ways,  namely,  by 
seizing  our  castles,  lands,  possessions,  and  in  any  other 
way  they  can,  until  redress  has  been  obtained  as  they 
deem  fit,  saving  harmless  our  own  person,  and  the  per- 
sons of  our  queen  and  children;  and  when  redress  has 
been  obtained,  they  shall  resume  their  old  relations  tow- 
ard us.  And  let  whoever  in  the  country  desires  it,  swear 
to  obey  the  orders  of  the  said  five-and-twenty  barons  for 
the  execution  of  all  the  aforesaid  matters,  and  along  with 
them,  to  molest  us  to  the  utmost  of  his  power;  and  we 
publicly  and  freely  grant  leave  to  every  one  who  wishes 
to  swear,  and  we  shall  never  forbid  any  one  to  swear. 
All  those,  moreover,  in  the  land  who  of  themselves  and  of 
their  own  accord  are  unwilling  to  swear  to  the  twenty- 
five  to  help  them  in  constraining  and  molesting  us,  we 
shall  by  our  command  compel  the  same  to  swear  to  the 
effect  foresaid.  And  if  any  one  of  the  five-and-twenty 
barons  shall  have  died  or  departed  from  the  land,  or  be 
incapacitated  in  any  other  manner  which  would  pre- 
vent the  foresaid  provisions  being  carried  out,  those  of 
the  said  twenty-five  barons  who  are  left  shall  choose  an- 
other in  his  place  according  to  their  own  judgment,  and 
he  shall  be  sworn  in  the  same  way  as  the  others.  Further, 
in  all  matters,  the  execution  of  which  is  intrusted  to  these 
twenty-five  barons,  if  perchance  these  twenty-five  are 
present  and  disagree  about  anything,  or  if  some  of  them, 
after  being  summoned,  are  unwilling  or  unable  to  be 
present,  that  which  the  majority  of  those  present  ordain 
or  command  shall  be  held  as  fixed  and  established,  exactly 
as  if  the  whole  twenty-five  had  concurred  in  this;  and 

394 


Appendix 

the  said  twenty-five  shall  swear  that  they  will  faithfully 
observe  all  that  is  aforesaid,  and  cause  it  to  be  observed 
with  all  their  might.  And  we  shall  procure  nothing  from 
any  one,  directly  or  indirectly,  whereby  any  part  of  these 
concessions  and  liberties  might  be  revoked  or  diminished; 
and  if  any  such  thing  has  been  procured,  let  it  be  void 
and  null,  and  we  shall  never  use  it  personally  or  by 
another. 

62.  And  all  the  ill-will,  hatreds,  and  bitterness  that 
have  arisen  between  us  and  our  men,  clergy  and  lay, 
from  the  date  of  the  quarrel,  we  have  completely  remitted 
and  pardoned  to  every  one.     Moreover,  all  trespasses 
occasioned  by  the  said  quarrel,  from  Easter  in  the  six- 
teenth year  of  our  reign  till  the  restoration  of  peace,  we 
have  fully  remitted  to  all,  both  clergy  and  laymen,  and 
completely  forgiven,  as   far   as   pertains   to   us.      And, 
on  this  head,  we  have   caused   to   be  made   for  them 
letters    testimonial    patent   of  the   lord   Stephen,   arch- 
bishop   of  Canterbury,  of  the  lord  Henry,  archbishop 
of    Dublin,    of    the   bishops   aforesaid,    and   of   Master 
Pandulf  as  touching  this  security  and  the  concessions 
aforesaid. 

63.  Wherefore  it  is  our  will,  and  we  firmly  enjoin,  that 
the  English  Church  be  free,  and  that  the  men  in  our 
kingdom  have  and  hold  all  the  aforesaid  liberties,  rights, 
and  concessions,  well  and  peaceably,  freely  and  quietly, 
fully  and  wholly,  for  themselves  and  their  heirs,  of  us 
and  our  heirs,  in  all  respects  and  in  all  places  for  ever,  as 
is  aforesaid.     An  oath,  moreover,  has  been  taken,  as  well 
on  our  part  as  on  the  part  of  the  barons,  that  all  these 
conditions  aforesaid  shall  be  kept  in  good  faith  and  with- 
out  evil   intent.     Given   under   our   hand — the  above- 
named  and  many  others  being  witnesses — in  the  meadow 
which    is    called    Runnymede,    between    Windsor    and 

26  395 


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Staines,  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  June,  in  the  seventeenth 
year  of  our  reign. 


CONFIRMATION    OP   THE    CHARTERS.       1 297 

(French  text  and  translation  in  Stubbs,  Select  Charters, 
ninth  edition,  pp.  490-493.) 

I.  Edward,  by  the  grace  of  God,  King  of  England,  Lord 
of  Ireland,  and  Duke  of  Aquitaine,  to  all  those  that  these 
present  letters  shall  hear  or  see,  greeting.     Know  ye  that 
we  to  the  honor  of  God  and  of  holy  Church,  and  to  the 
profit  of  all  our  realm,  have  granted  for  us  and  our  heirs, 
that  the  Great  Charter  of  Liberties  and  the  Charter  of 
the  Forest,  which  were  made  by  common  assent  of  all 
the  realm,  in  the  time  of  King  Henry  our  father,  shall  be 
kept  in  every  point  without  breach.     And  we  will  that 
these  same  charters  shall  be  sent  under  our  seal  to  our 
justices,  both  to  those  of  the  forest  and  to  the  rest,  and 
to  all  sheriffs  of  shires,  and  to  all  our  other  officers,  and 
to  all  our  cities  throughout  the  realm,  together  with  our 
writs  in  which  it  shall  be  contained,  that  they  cause  the 
aforesaid  charters  to  be  published,  and  have  it  declared 
to  the  people  that  we  have  granted  that  they  shall  be 
observed  in  all  points,  and  that  our  justices,  sheriffs, 
mayors,  and  other  officials  which  under  us  have  to  ad- 
minister the  laws  of  our  land,  shall  allow  the  said  charters 
in  pleas  before  them  and  in  judgments  in  all  their  points ; 
that  is  to  wit,  the  Great  Charter  as  the  common  law  and 
the  Charter  of  the  Forest  according  to  the  Assize  of  the 
Forest,  for  the  relief  of  our  people. 

II.  And  we  will  that  if  any  judgment  be  given  from 
henceforth,  contrary  to  the  points  of  the  charters  afore- 

396 


Appendix 

said,  by  the  justices  or  by  any  other  our  ministers  that 
hold  plea  before  them  against  the  points  of  the  charters, 
it  shall  be  undone  and  holden  for  naught. 

III.  And  we  will  that  the  same  charters  shall  be  sent 
under  our  seal  to  cathedral  churches  throughout  our 
realm,  and  there  remain,  and  shall  be  read  before  the 
people  twice  in  the  year. 

IV.  And  that  archbishops  and  bishops  shall  pronounce 
sentences  of  greater  excommunication  against  all  those 
that  by  word,  deed,  or  counsel  shall  go  against  the  fore- 
said  charters,  or  that  in  any  point  break  or  go  against 
them.    And  that  the  said  curses  be  twice  a  year  denounced 
and  published  by  the  prelates  aforesaid.     And  if  the  same 
prelates  or  any  of  them  be  remiss  in  the  denunciation  of 
the  said  sentences,  the  Archbishops  of  Canterbury  and 
York  for  the  time  being,  as  is  fitting,  shall  reprove  them 
and  constrain  them  to  make  that  denunciation  in  form 
aforesaid. 

V.  And  for  so  much  as  divers  people  of  our  realm  are 
in  fear  that  the  aids  and  mises  which  they  have  given 
to  us  beforetime  toward  our  wars  and  other  businesses, 
of  their  own  grant  and  good-will,  howsoever  they  were 
made,  might  turn  to  a  bondage  to  them  and  their  heirs, 
because  they  might  be  at  another  time  found  in  the  rolls, 
and  so  likewise  the  prises  taken  throughout  the  realm  by 
our  ministers  in  our  name:   we  have  granted  for  us  and 
our  heirs,  that  we  shall  never  draw  such  aids,  mises,  nor 
prises  into  a  custom  for  anything  that  hath  been  done 
heretofore  or  that  may  be  found  by  roll  or  in  any  other 
manner. 

VI.  Moreover  we  have  granted  for  us  and  our  heirs, 
as  well  to  archbishops,  bishops,  abbots,  priors,  and  other 
folk  of  holy  Church,  as  also  to  earls,  barons,  and  to  all 
the  community  of  the  land,  that  for  no  business  from 

397 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

henceforth  will  we  take  such  manner  of  aids,  mises,  nor 
prises  from  our  realm,  but  by  the  common  assent  of  all 
the  realm,  and  for  the  common  profit  thereof,  saving  the 
ancient  aids  and  prises  due  and  accustomed. 

VII.  And  for  so  much  as  the  more  part  of  the  com- 
munity of  the  realm  find  themselves  sore  grieved  with 
the  maletote  on  wools,  that  is  to  wit,  a  toll  of  forty  shil- 
lings for  every  sack  of  wool,  and  have  made  petition  to 
us  to  release  the  same;  we,  at  their  requests,  have  fully 
released  it,  and  have  granted  that  we  shall  never  take 
this  nor  any  other  without  their  common  assent  and 
good-will;  saving  to  us  and  our  heirs  the  custom  of  wools, 
skins,  and  leather  granted  before  by  the  commonalty 
aforesaid.  In  witness  of  which  things  we  have  caused  to 
be  made  these  our  letters  patent.  Given  at  Ghent  the 
fifth  day  of  November  in  the  twenty-fifth  year  of  our 
reign. 


VI 

PETITION    OF    RIGHT.       1628 

(Stubbs,  Select  Charters,  eighth  edition,  pp.  515-517.) 
The  Petition  exhibited  to  his  Majesty  by  the  Lords 
Spiritual  and  Temporal,  and  Commons,  in  this  pres- 
ent Parliament  assembled,  concerning  divers  Rights 
and  Liberties  of  the  Subjects,  with  the  King's  Maj- 
esty's royal  answer  thereunto  in  full  Parliament. 

TO  THE   KING'S    MOST   EXCELLENT   MAJESTY 

Humbly  show  unto  our  Sovereign  Lord  the  King,  the 
Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal,  and  Commons  in  Parlia- 
ment assembled,  that  whereas  it  is  declared  and  enacted 

398 


Appendix 

by  a  statute  made  in  the  time  of  the  reign  of  King  Edward 
I.,  commonly  called  Statutum  de  Tallagio  non  Concedendo, 
that  no  tallage  or  aid  shall  be  laid  or  levied  by  the  king 
or  his  heirs  in  this  realm,  without  the  good-will  and  as- 
sent of  the  archbishops,  bishops,  earls,  barons,  knights, 
burgesses,  and  other  the  freemen  of  the  commonalty  of 
this  realm;  and  by  authority  of  parliament  holden  in  the 
five-and-twentieth  year  of  the  reign  of  King  Edward  III., 
it  is  declared  and  enacted,  that  from  thenceforth  no  per- 
son should  be  compelled  to  make  any  loans  to  the  king 
against  his  will,  because  such  loans  were  against  reason 
and  the  franchise  of  the  land;  and  by  other  laws  of  this 
realm  it  is  provided,  that  none  should  be  charged  by  any 
charge  or  imposition  called  a  benevolence,  nor  by  such 
like  charge;  by  which  statutes  before  mentioned,  and 
other  the  good  laws  and  statutes  of  this  realm,  your  sub- 
jects have  inherited  this  freedom,  that  they  should  not  be 
compelled  to  contribute  to  any  tax,  tallage,  aid,  or  other 
like  charge  not  set  by  common  consent,  in  parliament. 

II.  Yet  nevertheless  of  late  divers  commissions  di- 
rected to  sundry  commissioners  in  several  counties,  with 
instructions,  have  issued;  by  means  whereof  your  people 
have  been  in  divers  places  assembled,  and  required  to 
lend  certain  sums  of  money  unto  your  Majesty,  and  many 
of  them,  upon  their  refusal  so  to  do,  have  had  an  oath 
administered  unto  them  not  warrantable  by  the  laws  or 
statutes  of  this  realm,  and  have  been  constrained  to  be- 
come bound  and  make  appearance  and  give  utterance 
before  your  Privy  Council  and  in  other  places,  and  others 
of  them  have  been  therefore  imprisoned,  confined,  and 
sundry  other  ways  molested  and  disquieted;  and  divers 
other  charges  have  been  laid  and  levied  upon  your  people 
in  several  counties  by  lord  lieutenants,  deputy  lieutenants, 
commissioners  for  musters,  justices  of  peace  and  others, 

399 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

by  command  or  direction  from  your  Majesty,  or  your 
Privy  Council,  against  the  laws  and  free  customs  of  the 
realm. 

III.  And  whereas  also  by  the  statute  called  "The  Great 
Charter  of  the  liberties  of  England,"  it  is  declared  and 
enacted,  that  no  freeman  may  be  taken  or  imprisoned  or 
be  disseised  of  his  freehold  or  liberties,  or  his  free  customs, 
or  be  outlawed  or  exiled,  or  in  any  manner  destroyed,  but 
by  the  lawful  judgment  of  his  peers,  or  by  the  law  of  the 
land. 

IV.  And  in  the  eight-and-twentieth  year  of  the  reign 
of  King  Edward  III.,  it  was  declared  and  enacted  by 
authority  of  parliament,  that  no  man,  of  what  estate  or 
condition  that  he  be,  should  be  put  out  of  his  land  or 
tenements,  nor  taken,  nor  imprisoned,  nor  disherited,  nor 
put  to  death  without  being  brought  to  answer  by  due 
process  of  law. 

V.  Nevertheless,  against  the  tenor  of  the  said  statutes, 
and  other  the  good  laws  and  statutes  of  your  realm  to 
that  end  provided,  divers  of  your  subjects  have  of  late 
been  imprisoned  without  any  cause  showed;    and  when 
for  their  deliverance  they  were  brought  before  your  jus- 
tices by  your  Majesty's  writs  of  habeas  corpus,  there  to 
undergo  and  receive  as  the  court  should  order,  and  their 
keepers  commanded  to  certify  the  causes  of  their  detainer, 
no  cause  was  certified,  but  that  they  were  detained  by 
your  Majesty's  special  command,  signified  by  the  lords 
of  your  Privy  Council,  and  yet  were  returned  back  to 
several  prisons,  without  being  charged  with  anything  to 
which  they  might  make  answer  according  to  the  law. 

VI.  And  whereas  of  late  great  companies  of  soldiers 
and  mariners  have  been  dispersed  into  divers  counties 
of  the  realm,  and  the  inhabitants  against  their  wills  have 
been  compelled  to  receive  them  into  their  houses,  and 

400 


Appendix 

there  to  suffer  them  to  sojourn  against  the  laws  and  cus- 
toms of  this  realm,  and  to  the  great  grievance  and  vexa- 
tion Ox  the  people. 

VII.  And  whereas  also  by  authority  of  parliament,  in 
the  five-and-twentieth  year  of  the  reign  of  King  Edward 
III.,  it  is  declared  and  enacted,  that  no  man  shall  be  fore- 
judged of  life  or  limb  against  the  form  of  the  Great  Char- 
ter and  the  law  of  the  land;  and  by  the  said  Great  Char- 
ter and  other  the  laws  and  statutes  of  this  your  realm, 
no  man  ought  to  be  adjudged  to  death  but  by  the  laws 
established  in  this  your  realm,  either  by  the  customs  of 
the  same  realm,  or  by  acts  of  parliament:    and  whereas 
no  offender  of  what  kind  soever  is  exempted  from  the 
proceedings  to  be  used,  and  punishments  to  be  inflicted 
by  the  laws  and  statutes  of  this  your  realm;    neverthe- 
less of  late  time  divers  commissions  under  your  Majesty's 
great  seal  have  issued  forth  by  which  certain  persons  have 
been  assigned  and  appointed  commissioners  with  power 
and  authority  to  proceed  within  the  land,  according  to 
the  justice  of  martial  law,  against  such  soldiers  or  mari- 
ners,  or  other  dissolute  persons  joining  with  them,  as 
should  commit  any  murder,  robbery,  felony,  mutiny,  or 
other  outrage  or  misdemeanor  whatsoever,  and  by  such 
summary  course  and  order  as  is  agreeable  to  martial  law, 
and  as  is  used  in  armies  in  time  of  war,  to  proceed  to  the 
trial  and  condemnation  of  such  offenders,  and  them  to 
cause  to  be  executed  and  put  to  death  according  to  the 
law  martial. 

VIII.  By  pretext  whereof  some  of  your  Majesty's  sub- 
jects have  been  by  some  of  the  said  commissioners  put 
to  death,  when  and  where,  if  by  the  laws  and  statutes  of 
the  land  they  had  deserved  death,  by  the  same  laws  and 
statutes  also  they  might,  and  by  no  other  ought  to  have 
been  judged  and  executed. 

401 


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IX.  And   also  sundry   grievous    offenders,   by    color 
thereof  claiming  an  exemption,  have  escaped  the  punish- 
ments due  to  them  by  the  laws  and  statutes  of  this  your 
realm,  by  reason  that  divers  of  your  officers  and  ministers 
of  justice  have  unjustly  refused  or  forborne  to  proceed 
against  such  offenders  according  to  the  same  laws  and 
statutes,   upon   pretense   that   the   said   offenders   were 
punishable  only  by  martial  law,  and  by  authority  of  such 
commissions  as  aforesaid;    which  commissions,  and  all 
other  of  like  nature,  are  wholly  and  directly  contrary  to 
the  said  laws  and  statutes  of  this  your  realm. 

X.  They  do  therefore  humbly  pray  your  most  excel- 
lent Majesty,  that  no  man  hereafter  be  compelled  to 
make  or  yield  any  gift,  loan,  benevolence,  tax,  or  such 
like  charge,  without  common  consent  by  act  of  parlia- 
ment;  and  that  none  be  called  to  make  answer,  or  take 
such  oath,  or  to  give  attendance,  or  be  confined,  or  other- 
wise molested  or  disquieted  concerning  the  same  or  for 
refusal  thereof;  and  that  no  freeman,  in  any  such  manner 
as  is  before  mentioned,  be  imprisoned  or  detained;   and 
that  your  Majesty  would  be  pleased  to  remove  the  said 
soldiers  and  mariners,  and  that  your  people  may  not  be 
so  burdened  in  time  to  come;  and  that  the  aforesaid  com- 
missions, for  proceeding  by  martial  law,  may  be  revoked 
and  annulled;   and  that  hereafter  no  commissions  of  like 
nature  may  issue  forth  to  any  person  or  persons  whatso- 
ever to  be  executed  as  aforesaid,  lest  by  color  of  them 
any  of  your  Majesty's  subjects  be  destroyed  or  put  to 
death  contrary  to  the  laws  and  franchise  of  the  land. 

XI.  All  which  they  most  humbly  pray  of  your  most 
excellent  Majesty  as  their  rights  and  liberties,  according 
to  the  laws  and  statutes  of  this  realm;    and  that  your 
Majesty  would  also  vouchsafe  to  declare,  that  the  awards, 
doings,  and  proceedings,  to  the  prejudice  of  your  people 

402 


Appendix 

in  any  of  the  premises,  shall  not  be  drawn  hereafter  in 
consequence  or  example;  and  that  your  Majesty  would 
be  also  graciously  pleased,  for  the  further  comfort  and 
safety  of  your  people,  to  declare  your  royal  will  and  pleas- 
ure, that  in  the  things  aforesaid  all  your  officers  and 
ministers  shall  serve  you  according  to  the  laws  and 
statutes  of  this  realm,  as  they  tender  the  honor  of  your 
Majesty,  and  the  prosperity  of  this  kingdom. 

Qua  quidem  petitions  lecta  et  plenius  intellecta  per  dictum 
dominum  regent  taliter  est  responsum  in  plena  parliamento 
viz.  Soit  droit  fait  come  est  desire* 


VII 

BILL    OF    RIGHTS.       1689 

(Stubbs,  Select  Charters,  eighth  edition,  pp.  523-528.) 

Whereas  the  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal,  and  Com- 
mons, assembled  at  Westminster,  lawfully,  fully,  and  freely 
representing  all  the  estates  of  the  people  of  this  realm, 
did,  upon  the  thirteenth  day  of  February,  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  one  thousand  six  hundred  eighty-eight,  present 

1  "Which  petition  having  been  read  and  more  fully  understood, 
answer  was  made  thus  in  full  parliament  by  the  said  lord  king,  to 
wit:  Let  right  be  done  as  it  is  petitioned."  This  final  and  satis- 
factory answer  of  the  king  was  obtained  on  June  7th.  The  compara- 
tive adverb  plenius  ("more  fully")  is  perhaps  reminiscent  of  the 
reading  five  days  earlier  when  the  king  had  returned  his  evasive 
answer  in  these  words:  "The  King  willeth  that  right  be  done  ac- 
cording to  the  laws  and  customs  of  the  realm;  and  that  the  statutes 
be  put  in  due  execution,  that  his  subjects  may  have  no  cause  to 
complain  of  any  wrong  or  oppressions,  contrary  to  their  just  rights 
and  liberties,  to  the  preservation  whereof  he  holds  himself  as  well 
obliged  as  of  his  prerogative."  The  Commons  wished  a  specific 
confirmation  of  the  laws  cited  in  the  Petition. 

403 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

unto  their  Majesties,  then  called  and  known  by  the  names 
and  style  of  William  and  Mary,  Prince  and  Princess  of 
Orange,  being  present  in  their  proper  persons,  a  certain 
declaration  in  writing,  made  by  the  said  Lords  and  Com- 
mons, in  the  words  following;  viz.: — 

Whereas  the  late  King  James  II.,  by  the  assistance  of 
diverse  evil  counsellors,  judges,  and  ministers  employed 
by  him,  did  endeavor  to  subvert  and  extirpate  the  Prot- 
estant religion,  and  the  laws  and  liberties  of  this 
kingdom : 

1.  By  assuming  and  exercising  a  power  of  dispensing 
with  and  suspending  of  laws,  and  the  execution  of  laws, 
without  consent  of  parliament. 

2.  By  committing  and  prosecuting  diverse  worthy  pre- 
lates, for  humbly  petitioning  to  be  excused  from  con- 
curring to  the  same  assumed  power. 

3.  By  issuing  and  causing  to  be  executed  a  commission 
under  the  Great  Seal  for  erecting  a  court,  called  the  Court 
of  Commissioners  for  Ecclesiastical  Causes. 

4.  By  levying  money  for  and  to  the  use  of  the  Crown, 
by  pretense  of  prerogative,  for  other  time,  and  in  other 
manner  than  the  same  was  granted  by  parliament. 

5.  By  raising  and  keeping  a  standing  army  within  this 
kingdom  in  time  of   peace,  without  consent  of  parlia- 
ment, and  quartering  soldiers  contrary  to  law. 

6.  By  causing  several  good  subjects,  being  Protestants, 
to  be  disarmed,  at  the  same  time  when  Papists  were  both 
armed  and  employed  contrary  to  law. 

7.  By  violating  the  freedom  of  election  of  members  to 
serve  in  parliament. 

8.  By  prosecutions  in  the  Court  of  King's  Bench,  for 
matters  and  causes  cognizable  only  in  parliament;   and 
by  diverse  other  arbitrary  and  illegal  courses. 

9.  And  whereas  of  late  years,  partial,  corrupt,  and  un- 

404 


Appendix 

qualified  persons  have  been  returned  and  served  on  juries 
in  trials,  and  particularly  diverse  jurors  in  trials  for  high 
treason,  which  were  not  freeholders. 

10.  And  excessive  bail  hath  been  required  of  persons 
committed  in  criminal  cases,  to  elude  the  benefit  of  the 
laws  made  for  the  liberty  of  the  subjects. 

11.  And  excessive  fines  have  been  imposed;  and  illegal 
and  cruel  punishments  inflicted. 

12.  And  several  grants  and  promises  made  of  fines  and 
forfeitures,  before  any  conviction  or  judgment  against 
the  persons  upon  whom  the  same  were  to  be  levied. 

All  which  are  utterly  and  directly  contrary  to  the  known 
laws  and  statutes,  and  freedom  of  this  realm. 

And  whereas  the  said  late  King  James  II.  having  ab- 
dicated the  government,  and  the  throne  being  thereby 
vacant,  his  Highness  the  Prince  of  Orange  (whom  it  hath 
pleased  Almighty  God  to  make  the  glorious  instrument 
of  delivering  this  kingdom  from  popery  and  arbitrary 
power)  did  (by  the  advice  of  the  Lords  Spiritual  and  Tem- 
poral, and  diverse  principal  persons  of  the  Commons) 
cause  letters  to  be  written  to  the  Lords  Spiritual  and 
Temporal,  being  Protestants,  and  other  letters  to  the 
several  counties,  cities,  universities,  boroughs,  and  cinque 
ports,  for  the  choosing  of  such  persons  as  represent  them, 
as  were  of  right  to  be  sent  to  parliament,  to  meet  and  sit 
at  Westminster  upon  the  two-and-twentieth  day  of  Jan- 
uary, in  this  year  one  thousand  six  hundred  eighty  and 
eight,  in  order  to  such  an  establishment,  as  that  their 
religion,  laws,  and  liberties  might  not  again  be  in  danger 
of  being  subverted;  upon  which  letters,  elections  have 
been  accordingly  made. 

And  thereupon  the  said  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal, 
and  Commons,  pursuant  to  their  respective  letters  and 
elections,  being  now  assembled  in  a  full  and  free  repre- 
ss 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

sentation  of  this  nation,  taking  into  their  most  serious 
consideration  the  best  means  for  attaining  the  ends  afore- 
said, do  in  the  first  place  (as  their  ancestors  in  like  case 
have  usually  done) ,  for  the  vindicating  and  asserting  their 
ancient  rights  and  liberties,  declare: — 

1.  That  the  pretended  power  of  suspending  of  laws, 
or  the  execution  of  laws,  by  regal  authority,  without 
consent  of  parliament,  is  illegal. 

2.  That  the  pretended  power  of  dispensing  with  laws, 
or  the  execution  of  laws,  by  regal  authority,  as  it  hath 
been  assumed  and  exercised  of  late,  is  illegal. 

3.  That  the  commission  for  erecting  the  late  Court 
of  Commissioners  for  Ecclesiastical  Causes,  and  all  other 
commissions  and  courts  of  like  nature,  are  illegal  and 
pernicious. 

4.  That  levying  money  for  or  to  the  use  of  the  Crown, 
by  pretense  of  prerogative,  without  grant  of  parliament, 
for  longer  time  or  in  other  manner  than  the  same  is  or 
shall  be  granted,  is  illegal. 

5.  That  it  is  the  right  of  the  subjects  to  petition  the 
king,  and  all  commitments  and  prosecutions  for  such 
petitioning  are  illegal. 

6.  That  the  raising  or  keeping  of  a  standing  army 
within  the  kingdom  in  time  of  peace,  unless  it  be  with 
consent  of  parliament,  is  against  law. 

7.  That  the  subjects  which  are  Protestants  may  have 
arms  for  their  defense  suitable  to  their  conditions,  and 
as  allowed  by  law. 

8.  That  election  of  members  of  parliament  ought  to 
be  free. 

9.  That  the  freedom  of  speech,  and  debates  or  pro- 
ceedings in  parliament,  ought  not  to  be  impeached  or 
questioned  in  any  court  or  place  out  of  parliament. 

10.  That  excessive  bail  ought  not  to  be  required,  nor 

406 


Appendix 

excessive  fines  imposed;    nor  cruel  and  unusual  punish- 
ments inflicted. 

n.  That  jurors  ought  to  be  duly  impaneled  and  re- 
turned, and  jurors  which  pass  upon  men  in  trials  for  high 
treason  ought  to  be  freeholders. 

12.  That  all  grants  and  promises  of  fines  and  for- 
feitures of  particular  persons  before  conviction,  are  il- 
legal and  void. 

13.  And  that  for  redress  of  all  grievances,  and  for  the 
amending,  strengthening,   and  preserving  of  the  laws, 
parliament  ought  to  be  held  frequently. 

And  they  do  claim,  demand,  and  insist  upon  all  and 
singular  the  premises,  as  their  undoubted  rights  and  lib- 
erties; and  that  no  declarations,  judgments,  doings,  or 
proceedings,  to  the  prejudice  of  the  people  in  any  of  the 
said  premises,  ought  in  any  wise  to  be  drawn  hereafter 
into  consequence  or  example. 

To  which  demand  of  their  rights  they  are  particularly 
encouraged  by  the  declaration  of  his  Highness  the  Prince 
of  Orange,  as  being  the  only  means  for  obtaining  a  full 
redress  and  remedy  therein. 

Having  therefore  an  entire  confidence  that  his  said 
Highness  the  Prince  of  Orange  will  perfect  the  deliver- 
ance so  far  advanced  by  him,  and  will  still  preserve  them 
from  the  violation  of  their  rights,  which  they  have  here 
asserted,  and  from  all  other  attempts  upon  their  religion, 
rights,  and  liberties: 

II.  The  said  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal,  and  Com- 
mons, assembled  at  Westminster,  do  resolve,  that  William, 
and  Mary,  Prince  and  Princess  of  Orange,  be,  and  be 
declared,  King  and  Queen  of  England,  France,  and  Ire- 
land, and  the  dominions  thereunto  belonging,  to  hold  the 
Crown  and  royal  dignity  of  the  said  kingdoms  and  do- 
minions to  them  the  said  Prince  and  Princess  during  their 

407 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

lives,  and  the  life  of  the  survivor  of  them;  and  that  the 
sole  and  full  exercise  of  the  regal  power  be  only  in,  and 
executed  by,  the  said  Prince  of  Orange,  in  the  names 
of  the  said  Prince  and  Princess,  during  their  joint  lives; 
and  after  their  deceases,  the  said  Crown  and  royal  dignity 
of  the  said  kingdoms  and  dominions  to  be  to  the  heirs  of 
the  body  of  the  said  Princess;  and  for  default  of  such  issue 
to  the  Princess  Anne  of  Denmark,  and  the  heirs  of  her 
body;  and  for  default  of  such  issue  to  the  heirs  of  the 
body  of  the  said  Prince  of  Orange.  And  the  Lords 
Spiritual  and  Temporal,  and  Commons,  do  pray  the  said 
Prince  and  Princess  to  accept  the  same  accordingly. 

III.  And  that  the  oaths  hereafter  mentioned  be  taken 
by  all  persons  of  whom  the  oaths  of  allegiance  and  su- 
premacy might  be  required  by  law,  instead  of  them;  and 
that  the  said  oaths  of  allegiance  and  supremacy  be  ab- 
rogated. 

I,  A.B.,  do  sincerely  promise  and  swear,  That  I  will  be 
faithful  and  bear  true  allegiance  to  their  Majesties  King 
William  and  Queen  Mary:  So  help  me  God. 

I,  A.B.,  do  swear,  That  I  do  from  my  heart,  abhor, 
detest,  and  abjure  as  impious  and  heretical,  that  damn- 
able doctrine  and  position,  that  Princes  excommunicated 
or  deprived  by  the  Pope,  or  any  authority  of  the  See  of 
Rome,  may  be  deposed  or  murdered  by  their  subjects, 
or  any  other  whatsoever.  And  I  do  declare,  That  no 
foreign  prince,  person,  prelate,  state,  or  potentate  hath, 
or  ought  to  have,  any  jurisdiction,  power,  superiority,  pre- 
eminence, or  authority  ecclesiastical  or  spiritual,  within 
this  realm:  So  help  me  God. 

IV.  Upon  which  their  said  Majesties  did  accept  the 

408 


Appendix 

Crown  and  royal  dignity  of  the  kingdoms  of  England, 
France,  and  Ireland,  and  the  dominions  thereunto  be- 
longing, according  to  the  resolution  and  desire  of  the 
said  Lords  and  Commons  contained  in  the  said  declara- 
tion. 

V.  And  thereupon  their  Majesties  were  pleased,  that 
the  said  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal,  and  Commons, 
being  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament,  should  continue  to 
sit,  and  with  their  Majesties'  royal  concurrence  make 
effectual  provision  for  the  settlement  of  the  religion,  laws, 
and  liberties  of  this  kingdom,  so  that  the  same  for  the 
future  might  not  be  in  danger  again  of  being  subverted; 
to  which  the  said  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal,  and 
Commons,  did  agree  and  proceed  to  act  accordingly. 

VI.  Now  in  pursuance  of  the  premises,  the  said  Lords 
Spiritual  and  Temporal,  and  Commons,  in  parliament 
assembled,  for  the  ratifying,  confirming,  and  establishing 
the  said  declaration,  and  the  articles,  clauses,  matters, 
and  things  therein  contained,  by  the  force  of  law  made 
in  due  form  by  authority  of  parliament,  do  pray  that  it 
may  be  declared  and  enacted,  That  all  and  singular  the 
rights  and  liberties  asserted  and  claimed  in  the  said  decla- 
ration, are  the  true,  ancient,  and  indubitable  rights  and 
liberties  of  the  people  of  this  kingdom,  and  so  shall  be 
esteemed,  allowed,  adjudged,  deemed,  and  taken  to  be, 
and  that  all  and  every  the  particulars  aforesaid  shall  be 
firmly  and  strictly  holden  and  observed,  as  they  are  ex- 
pressed in   the  said  declaration;    and   all   officers  and 
ministers  whatsoever  shall  serve  their  Majesties  and  their 
successors  according  to  the  same  in  all  times  to  come. 

VII.  And  the  said  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal,  and 
Commons,  seriously  considering  how  it  has  pleased  Al- 
mighty God,  in  His  marvelous  providence,  and  merciful 
goodness  to  this  nation,  to  provide  and  preserve  their 

409 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

said  Majesties'  royal  persons  most  happily  to  reign  over 
us  upon  the  throne  of  their  ancestors,  for  which  they 
render  unto  Him  from  the  bottom  of  their  hearts  their 
humblest  thanks  and  praises,  do  truly,  firmly,  assuredly, 
and  in  the  sincerity  of  their  hearts,  think,  and  do  hereby 
recognize,  acknowledge,  and  declare,  that  King  James  II. 
having  abdicated  the  government,  and  their  Majesties 
having  accepted  the  Crown  and  royal  dignity  aforesaid, 
their  said  Majesties  did  become,  were,  are,  and  of  right 
ought  to  be,  by  the  laws  of  this  realm,  our  sovereign  liege 
Lord  and  Lady,  King  and  Queen  of  England,  France,  and 
Ireland,  and  the  dominions  thereunto  belonging,  in  and 
to  whose  princely  persons  the  royal  State,  Crown,  and 
dignity  of  the  same  realms,  with  all  honors,  styles,  titles, 
regalities,  prerogatives,  powers,  jurisdictions,  and  au- 
thorities to  the  same  belonging  and  appertaining,  are  most 
fully,  rightfully,  arid  entirely  invested  and  incorporated, 
united,  and  annexed. 

VIII.  And  for  preventing  all  questions  and  divisions 
in  this  realm,  by  reason  of  any  pretended  titles  to  the 
Crown,  and  for  preserving  a  certainty  in  the  succession 
thereof,  in  and  upon  which  the  unity,  peace,  tranquility, 
and  safety  of  this  nation  doth,  under  God,  wholly  con- 
sist and  depend,  the  said  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal, 
and  Commons,  do  beseech  their  Majesties  that  it  may  be 
enacted,  established,  and  declared,  that  the  Crown  and 
regal  government  of  the  said  kingdoms  and  dominions, 
with  all  and  singular  the  premises  thereunto  belonging 
and  appertaining,  shall  be  and  continue  to  their  said 
Majesties,  and  the  survivor  of  them,  during  their  lives, 
and  the  life  of  the  survivor  of  them.  And  that  the  entire, 
perfect,  and  full  exercise  of  the  regal  power  and  govern- 
ment be  only  in,  and  executed  by,  his  Majesty,  in  the 
names  of  both  their  Majesties  during  their  joint  lives; 

410 


Appendix 

and  after  their  deceases  the  said  Crown  and  premises 
shall  be  and  remain  to  the  heirs  of  the  body  of  her  Maj- 
esty: and  for  default  of  such  issue,  to  her  Royal  High- 
ness the  Princess  Anne  of  Denmark,  and  the  heirs  of  her 
body;  and  for  default  of  such  issue,  to  the  heirs  of  the 
body  of  his  said  Majesty:  and  thereunto  the  said  Lords 
Spiritual  and  Temporal,  and  Commons,  do,  in  the  name 
of  all  the  people  aforesaid,  most  humbly  and  faithfully 
submit  themselves,  their  heirs  and  posterities,  for  ever: 
and  do  faithfully  promise,  That  they  will  stand  to,  main- 
tain, and  defend  their  said  Majesties,  and  also  the  limita- 
tion and  succession  of  the  Crown  herein  specified  and 
contained,  to  the  utmost  of  their  powers,  with  their  lives 
and  estates,  against  all  persons  whatsoever  that  shall 
attempt  anything  to  the  contrary. 

IX.  And  whereas  it  hath  been  found  by  experience, 
that  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  safety  and  welfare  of  this 
Protestant  kingdom,  to  be  governed  by  a  Popish  prince, 
or  by  any  king  or  queen  marrying  a  Papist,  the  said 
Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal,  and  Commons,  do  further 
pray  that  it  may  be  enacted,  That  all  and  every  person 
and  persons  that  is,  are,  or  shall  be  reconciled  to,  or  shall 
hold  communion  with,  the  See  or  Church  of  Rome,  or 
shall  profess  the  Popish  religion,  or  shall  marry  a  Papist, 
shall  be  excluded,  and  be  for  ever  incapable  to  inherit, 
possess,  or  enjoy  the  Crown  and  government  of  this  realm, 
and  Ireland,  and  the  dominions  thereunto  belonging,  or 
any  part  of  the  same,  or  to  have,  use,  or  exercise  any 
regal  power,  authority,  or  jurisdiction  within  the  same; 
and  in  all  and  every  such  case  or  cases  the  people  of  these 
realms  shall  be  and  are  hereby  absolved  of  their  allegiance; 
and  the  said  Crown  and  government  shall  from  time  to 
time  descend  to,  and  be  enjoyed  by,  such  person  or  persons, 
being  Protestants,  as  should  have  inherited  and  enjoyed 

27  411 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 

the  same,  in  case  the  said  person  or  persons  so  reconciled 
holding  communion,  or  professing,  or  marrying  as  afore- 
said, were  naturally  dead. 

X.  And  that  every  king  and  queen  of  this  realm,  who 
at  any  time  hereafter  shall  come  to  and  succeed  in  the 
Imperial  Crown  of  this  kingdom,  shall,  on  the  first  day 
of  the  meeting  of  the  first  parliament,  next  after  his  or  her 
coming  to  the  Crown,  sitting  in  his  or  her  throne  in  the 
House  of  Peers,  in  the  presence  of  the  Lords  and  Com- 
mons therein  assembled,  or  at  his  or  her  coronation,  be- 
fore such  person  or  persons  who  shall  administer  the 
coronation  oath  to  him  or  her,  at  the  time  of  his  or  her 
taking  the  said  oath  (which  shall  first  happen),  make, 
subscribe,  and  audibly  repeat  the  declaration  mentioned 
in  the  statute  made  in  the  thirteenth  year  of  the  reign  of 
King  Charles  II.,  intituled  "An  Act  for  the  more  effectual 
preserving  the  King's  person  and  government,  by  dis- 
abling Papists  from  sitting  in  either  House  of  Parliament." 
But  if  it  shall  happen,  that  such  king  or  queen,  upon  his 
or  her  succession  to  the  Crown  of  this  realm,  shall  be 
under  the  age  of  twelve  years,  then  every  such  king  or 
queen  shall  make,  subscribe,  and  audibly  repeat  the  said 
declaration  at  his  or  her  coronation,  or  the  first  day  of 
meeting  of  the  first  parliament  as  aforesaid,  which  shall 
first  happen  after  such  king  or  queen  shall  have  attained 
the  said  age  of  twelve  years. 

XI.  All  of  which  their  Majesties  are  contented  and 
pleased  shall  be  declared,  enacted,  and  established  by 
authority  of  this  present  parliament,  and  shall  stand,  re- 
main, and  be  the  law  of  this  realm  for  ever;  and  the  same 
are  by  their  said  Majesties,  by  and  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal,  and  Com- 
mons, in  parliament  assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of 
the  same,  declared,  enacted,  or  established  accordingly. 

412 


Appendix 

XII.  And  be  it  further  declared  and  enacted  by  the 
authority  aforesaid,  That  from  and  after  this  present 
session  of  parliament,  no  dispensation  by  non  obstante  of 
or  to  any  statute,  or  any  part  thereof,  shall  be  allowed, 
but  that  the  same  shall  be  held  void  and  of  no  effect, 
except  a  dispensation  be  allowed  of  in  such  statute,  and 
except  in  such  cases  as  shall  be  specially  provided  for  by 
one  or  more  bill  or  bills  to  be  passed  during  this  present 
session  of  parliament. 

XIII.  Provided  that  no  charter,  or  grant,  or  pardon 
granted  before  the  three-and-twentieth  day  of  October, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  six  hundred  eighty- 
nine,  shall  be  any  ways  impeached  or  invalidated  by  this 
act,  but  that  the  same  shall  be  and  remain  of  the  same  force 
and  effect  in  law,  and  no  other,  than  as  if  this  act  had 
never  been  made. 


INDEX 


Adams,  John,  285, 286  and  notes, 

296.  305- 

Alford,  Edward,  speech  in  the 
Commons,  210-211. 

Alfred,  see  Problem  I. 

Alured,  Thomas,  letter  to  Cham- 
berlain, 234,  note. 

Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle,  7-9;  ex- 
cerpt from,  12,  16;  20,  note  2. 

Annals  of  St.  Helens,  Bishops- 
gate,  London,  245;  excerpt 
from,  257-261. 

Anne,  App.,  408,  411. 

Annual  Register,  340;  excerpts 
from,  345-349,  352,  354~355, 
357-360,  361-363. 

Apology  of  the  Commons,  1604, 
excerpts  from,  203-205. 

Artisans,  143  and  note  2,  149, 
150,  152. 

Asquith,  Herbert,  prime  minister 
speech  at  Birmingham,  346- 
347;  in  the  Commons,  350-351, 
355,  357,  362-363;  at  Albert 
Hall,  352-353;  resolutions  of, 
356-357;  at  National  Liberal 
Club,  359;  letter  to  Balfour, 
36i. 

Asser,  8,  9;  excerpt  from  his  Life 
of  King  Alfred,  16-25. 

Assize,  Grand,  44,  45,  59,  60, 
62,  63. 

Assize  of  Arms,  77-78;  excerpts 
from  text  of,  90-91. 


Assize  of  Clarendon,  39, 42, 43, 56, 
76,  78;  text  of,  App.,  375,  380. 

Assize  of  Northampton,  43;  ex- 
cerpts from,  56-58,  78. 

Assizes,  42,  94-95. 

Athelney,  12,  13,  18,  19,  26. 

Autobiography  of  the  Duke  of 
Graf  ton,  288,  289;  excerpts 
from,  317. 

B 

Bacon,  Sir  Francis,  speech  in  the 
House,  206. 

Balfour,  Arthur,  339,  346,  347; 
in  the  Commons,  351-352; 
election  address,  353-354;  let- 
ter from  Asquith,  361. 

Bate  case,  the,  205,  note. 

Benevolences,  App.,  399. 

Bill  of  Rights,  text  of,  App.,  403- 

.413- 
Billeting  of  soldiers,  App.,  400— 

401,  404. 
Black  Death,  115,  116,  132,  134- 

141,  147- 
Borlase  MS.  of  the  Parliament  of 

1628,  1 80,  181;  excerpts  from, 

231,  233- 

Boroughs,  37,  82,  83,  91,  94,  98, 
103,  144,  145;  App.,  378,  379, 

384- 
Boston    Town  Records,   245-246; 

excerpts  from,  264-277. 
Bracton,    De    Legibus    Angliac, 

quoted,  196,  note. 


415 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 


Bright,  John,  quoted  334. 

Bromley,  Sir  Henry,  summoned 
before  the  Council,  201-202. 

Brook,  Christopher,  speech  in 
the  House,  221. 

Buckhurst,  Lord,  privy  coun- 
cilor, 202. 

Buckingham,  Duke  of,  impeach- 
ment of,  225-226,  230,  231, 

233-234- 
Budget    of    1 909,    see    Problem 

VIII. 
Burghley,  Lord,  186,  190,  202. 


Cabinet,  285,  287,  289,  296,  317- 
319,  332  and  note,  337. 

Calendars  of  State  Papers,  176- 
179;  excerpts  from,  Domestic, 
190-192,  208-209,  224-225; 
Spanish  1558-1567,  187-190; 
Venetian,  1621-1623,  224. 

Calvert,  George,  secretary  of 
state,  speeches  in  the  Com- 
mons, 222-223. 

Cambridge,  Town  and  Selectmen's 
Records,  Newtowne  and,  246; 
excerpts  from,  279-280. 

Canada,  283,  295,  322,  323,  325, 
326. 

Carleton,  Sir  Dudley,  vice-cham- 
berlain, letters  from  Cham- 
berlain and  Win  wood,  209; 
speeches  in  the  House,  227 
and  note,  230. 

Carncage,  37,  81;  writ  for  col- 
lection of,  95-96. 

Cecil,  Sir  Robert,  privy  coun- 
cilor, speech  in  the  House, 
199. 

Chamberlain,  John,  letter  to 
Carleton,  209;  letter  from 
Alured,  234,  note. 

Charlemagne,  16,  24,  30. 

Charles  I.,  210,  211,  212;  and 
Parliament,225-238;  App.,388. 


Charles  II.,  App.,  412. 

Charles  V.,  emperor,  173. 

Charter  of  Liberties  of  Henry 
I.,  text  of,  App.,  367-370. 

Chatham,  Earl  of,  284,  286. 

Chippenham,  12,  13,  16,  20,  26, 
27. 

Cholmondeley,  Lord,  287,  293- 
294. 

Churchwardens,  duties  of,  etc., 
249-262  passim. 

Cinque  Ports,  82,  84,  98,  104; 
App.,  405. 

Civil  Pleas,  44;  typical  records 
of,  60-64;  App.,  385. 

Cobbett's  State  Trials,  179;  er- 
cerpts  from,  235-237. 

Coke,  Sir  Edward,  175,  176; 
speeches  in  the  House,  217, 
221-222,  223,  233-234  and 
note;  committed  to  the  Tower, 
225. 

Colonies,  American,  see  Problem 
VII. 

Common  law,  39,  42. 

Commons,  House  of,  see  Prob- 
lems III,  V,  and  VIII. 

Commons  Journals,  176;  ex- 
cerpts from,  186-187,  198, 
207-208,  237. 

Commutation  of  service,  see 
Problem  IV. 

Confirmation  of  the  Charters 
(1297), text  of,  App., 396-398. 

Congress,  the  Continental,  294, 
295,  3io,  323. 

Conservatives    or    Tories,    331- 

332,  335,  336,  339,  352. 
Constables,  duties  of,  etc.,  248- 
256,   259,   265,   269,   271-272, 

273. 

Constitutions  of  Clarendon,  41, 
42,  55;  text  of,  App.,  370- 

375- 

Council,  164-165,  1 68,  175,  187, 
188,  189,  192,  195,  199,  202, 
209,  225,  235;  App.,  399,  400. 


Index 


County  Court,  see  Shire. 
Cranmer,  Thomas,  archbishop  of 

Canterbury,  173. 
Crewe,   Thomas,   speech  in  the 

House,  221. 
Crofts,  Sir  James,  186. 


D 


Dalton,  James,  194,  note  2. 

Danegeld,  37. 

Danes,  see  Problem  I. 

D'Ewes,  Journals,  177-178;  ex- 
cerpts from,  192-200. 

Delbridge,  John,  speech  in  the 
House,  214. 

Digges,  Sir  Dudley,  imprison- 
ment and  release  of,  226,  229, 
230;  speech  in  the  House,  232. 

Dispensing  and  suspending  pow- 
er, App.,  404,  406. 

Disraeli,  Benjamin,  Earl  of  Bea- 
consfield,  332,  note. 

Distraint  of  knighthood,  81-82; 
writ  for,  96-97. 

Domesday  survey,  40;  title  of 
inquest  for  Ely,  52,  53,  76. 

Duties  of  Constables,  Borsholders, 
etc.,  245;  excerpts  from,  248- 
252. 


Edington,  battle  of,  13,  19,  27. 
Education  Bill  of  1906,  339. 
Edward  the  Confessor,  53;  App., 

368,  369- 

Edward  the  Elder,  9. 
Edward   I.,  85,    102,    104,   105; 

App.,  396,  399- 
Edward  III.,  115,  note,  n6,note, 

155,162;  App. ,399-401. 
Edward  VI.,  175. 
Edward  VII.,  speech  on  opening 

Parliament,    354-355;     death 

of,  358,  362. 
Egbert,  5. 


Elections,  interference  with,  App. 
404,  406. 

Eliot,  Sir  John,  176;  imprison- 
ment of,  and  vindication  by 
the  Commons,  226-230;  at- 
tack of  upon  Buckingham,  231, 
232 ;  arrest  of  and  proceedings 
against,  235-238. 

Elizabeth,  116,  note,  167,  note  i, 
171,  174,  175;  freedom  of 
speech  under,  186-202. 

Elsynge,  Henry,  clerk  of  the 
House,  173. 

English  Budget  Proposals  (Selig- 
man),  Survey,  340;  excerpts 
from,  343-345- 

Ethelred,  brother  of  Alfred,  5,  9. 

Ethel werd,  chronicle  of,  9,  10; 
excerpt  from,  25-30. 

Ethel wulf,  father  of  Alfred,  15, 
1 6,  23,  29,  30. 


Finance  Bill  of  1894,  349. 

Fitzherbert,  Lord,  287. 

Fitzwilliam,  Lord,  324,  325,  327, 
328. 

Fleetwood,  William,  ^194  and 
note  I. 

Florida,  283. 

Fox,  Charles  James,  284,  285, 
286,  287,  289,  296,  297,  306, 
312,  314;  Memorials  and  Cor- 
respondence of,  288;  excerpts 
from,  317-328. 

France,  invaded  by  Northmen, 
14,  21,  22,  25,  28,  30;  in  the 
peace  negotiations  with  Ameri- 
ca, 283-328  passim. 

Franchise  Bill,  see  Reform  Bill. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  285  -  289 
passim;  Journal,  quoted,  293- 
314,  3H-328  passim. 

Frederick,  elector  palatine,  210. 

Freedom  of  speech  in  Parliament, 
see  Problem  I ;  App.,  406. 


417 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 


Freeholders,  36-38,  75,  76,  78, 
88,  90,  109,  no,  127,  128. 

Fuller,  Mr.,  speech  in  the  House, 
205-206. 


General  Court  (Colonial  Legis- 
lature), 265  and  note,  267,  268, 
269,  270. 

George  III.,  283,  284. 

George,  David  Lloyd,  chancellor 
of  the  exchequer,  339;  speech 
at  Limehouse,  345-346;  at 
the  National  Liberal  Club,  352 ; 
in  the  Nation,  347-348;  speech 
in  Parliament,  357-358. 

Giles,  Sir  Edward,  speech  in  the 
House,  232. 

Gladstone,  William  Ewart,  332, 
note,  335,  337,  352. 

Glanville,  43,  44,  56,  note  i ; 
excerpts  from  Treatise  as- 
cribed to,  58-60. 

Gostwick,  Sir  John,  Henry  VIII  .'s 
message  to,  173. 

Grenville,  Thomas,  287-319  pas- 
sim; letter  to  Fox,  319-325; 
letter  from  Fox,  325-328. 

Grosvenor,  Sir  Richard,  Notes  of 
the  Parliament  of  1628,  180, 
181;  excerpts  from,  232,  233. 

Guthrum,  10,  13,  19,  20,  note  2; 
text  of  Alfred's  Peace  with, 
31,  32- 

H 

Habeas  Corpus,  App.,  400. 

Hakewill,  William,  speech  in  the 
House,  214-215. 

Hansard,  340 ;  excerpts  from,  349- 
35°. 

Haxey,  Thomas,  case  of,  169. 

Heath,  Sir  Robert,  attorney- 
general,  235-236. 

Heneage,  Sir  Thomas,  privy 
councilor,  201-202. 


Henry  I.,  39,  41,  42,  54,  74,  77, 

80;  App.,  367,  370. 
Henry    II.,    39,    41-44,    74-79, 

88-91;  App.,  370-380. 
Henry  III.,  39,   45,  81-85,  94- 

106  passim;   App.,  396. 
Henry  IV.,  162-171  passim,  194 

and  note  3. 
Henry  V.,  194. 
Henry  VI.,  194,  note  4. 
Henry  VIII. ,  171,  note,  172,  173; 

Letters  and  Papers,  quoted,  1 73, 

note,  175,  note. 
High     Commission,     Court    of, 

App.,  404,  406. 
Hobby,   Sir  Thomas,  speech  in 

the  House,  228. 
Holinshed's  Chronicles,  171,  note; 

quoted,  173,  notes,  175,  note. 
Holland,   in   the  peace  negotia- 
tions, with  America,  284,  285, 

286,    note    I,    298,    304,    305, 

311- 
Holies,  Denzfl,  arrest  of  and 

proceedings      against,       235- 

238. 
Home  Rule  Bill,  Irish  (1893), 

337- 
House  of  Lords  Reconstitution 

Bill,  360-361. 
Hundred  court,  37. 


I 


Impositions,  the  Bate  case,  205. 

note,  208,  209;   App.,  399. 
Income  Tax,  see  Problem  VIII. 
Initiation,  right  of,  163  and  note, 

175;    of   money   grants,    165, 

note  2. 
Inquest,  Sworn,  see  Problems  II 

and  III. 
Itinerant  justices,  42-45,  60,  64, 

66,74,78-81,94-95,  109;  App., 

376,  377,  379,  385,  389,  396, 

397- 


418 


Index 


ames  I.,  203-225  passim. 
ames  II.,  App.,  404,  405-410. 
ay,  John,  286  and  notes,  313. 
efferson,  Thomas,  286  and  note 
I. 

John,  39,  45,  79,  80,  93,  94; 
App.,  380. 

John  of  Gaunt,  Duke  of  Lan- 
caster, 167,  169. 

Journal  Book  of  the  Commons, 
James'  erasure  of  the  Com- 
mons' protestation  from,  225; 
see  also  Commons  Journals. 

Journal,  Franklin's,  288;  ex- 
cerpts from,  293-314. 

Journal,  Winthrop's,  244-245, 
246;  excerpts  from,  278-279. 

Judges,  163-164, 168  and  note  i, 
170,  note  2,  175. 

Jury,  see  Problem  II,  73,  no, 
154-157;  App.,  405,  407. 

Justices  of  Laborers,    116,    117, 

Justices  of  the  Peace,  117,  145, 
151,  152,  note  3,  249,  250,  252, 
253,  277;  App.,  399. 


King's  Bench,  Court  of,  App., 
404. 

Knights,  37,  38,  75,  76,  78,  81-84, 
88,  90-101  passim,  103-106, 
110;  App.,  369,  382,  385,  387, 
390. 

Knollys,  Sir  Francis,  vice-cham- 
berlain, 1 86. 


Laborers,  see  Problem  IV. 
Labor  laws,  see  Ordinance  and 

Statute  of  Laborers. 
Labor  party,  354. 
Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  301,  322. 


Langland,  William,  Richard  Ike 
Redeless,  165. 

Lando,  Girolamo,  Venetian  am- 
bassador, letter  of,  224. 

Lansdovme  MSS.,  Letters  from, 
excerpts  from,  315-317. 

Lansdowne,  Marquess  of,  quoted, 
348  and  note,  349  and  note; 
resolutions  of,  358-359;  Re- 
constitution  Bill  introduced 
by,  360-361. 

Laurens,  Henry,  286  and  note  I. 

Low  Reports,  the  Public  General 
Statutes,  i  pi  I,  340;  excerpts 
from,  363-366. 

Liberals,  332-366  passim. 

Licensing  Bill,  339,  349. 

Littleton,  Edward,  229. 

Livingston,  Robert,  288. 

London,  recaptured  from  the 
Danes,  16,  25,  30. 

London,    Evening   Post,   quoted, 

309- 
London     Times,    340;     excerpts 

from,  350-357,  360-361. 
Lord  lieutenants,  App.,  399. 
Lords  Appellant,  168  and  note  3. 
Lords,    House    of,    see    Problem 

VIII. 
Lords    Journals,    178;     excerpts 

from,  237-238. 
Loreburn,  Lord,  lord  chancellor, 

speech  in  the  Lords,  349-350. 
Louisiana,  283. 

M 

Magna  Carta,  80,  82,  83,  93-94; 

text    of,   App.,   380-396,   397, 

400,  401. 
Mallory,  Sir  Edward,  committed 

to  the  Tower,  225. 
Manor,  37;   see  Problem  IV. 
Mare,  Peter  de  la,  166;   speaker 

of  the  Good  Parliament,   167 

and  note  2,  168. 
Mary  I.,  174,  203. 


419 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 


Mary  II.,  App.,  404,  407-412. 

Meriton,  Guide  for  Constables, 
Churchwardens,  etc.,  245;  ex- 
cerpts from,  255-257. 

Merke,  Thomas,  bishop  of  Gar- 
lisle,  194,  note  3. 

Mildmay,  Sir  Walter,  chancellor 
of  the  exchequer,  193. 

Militia,  37,  77-78. 

Mill,  James,  quoted,  333. 

Ministers  (clergymen),  253,  254, 
255»  259  and  note  2,  278. 

Ministers,  royal,  231,  233,  234; 
see  also  Cabinet. 

Money  economy,  see  Problem 
IV. 

Money  grants,  initiation  of,  165, 
note  2;  control  of,  see  Prob- 
lem VIII. 

Morley,  John,  336. 

N 

Nationalist  party,  354. 

Neile,  Richard,  bishop  of  Lin- 
coln, attacks  the  Commons, 
208-209. 

New  England  Town-meeting,  see 
Problem  VI. 

Nicholas,  Sir  Edward,  Proceed- 
ings and  Debates,  i 80;  excerpts 
from,  210-224. 

Nichols,  John,  Illustrations  of  the 
Manners  and  Expences  of  An- 
tient  Times  in  England,  245; 
excerpts  from,  261-264. 

Norman  Conquest,  35,  36,  38,  39, 
74.  75,  109,  no,  113. 

Normandy,  35,  36,  41. 

North,  Lord,  283,  285. 

Northmen,  see  Danes. 

O 

Oath,  see  Sworn  Inquest. 

Old     Age     Pensions,     Bill     for, 

339- 
Ordeal,  45. 


Ordinance  of  Laborers,  115-117; 

text  of,  141-146,  147,  153. 
Oswald,  Richard,  287-327  passim. 


Palatinate,  discussion  in  the 
Commons  over,  210-212,  216. 

Paris,  besieged  by  Northmen,  16, 
25;  Treaty  of,  283. 

Parish,  the  English,  see  Problem 
VI. 

Parliament,  the  Tudors  and, 
174-175;  duration  of,  357,  366. 

Parliament  Act  of  191 1,  see  Prob- 
lem VIII. 

Parliamentary  Debates  in  1610, 
180;  excerpts  from,  205-208. 

Parliamentary  History,  179;  ex- 
cerpts from,  203-205,  227,  note. 

Peerages,  creation  of,  331-337 
passim,  362. 

Perambulation,  263  and  note,  273. 

Petition  of  Right,  231;  text  of, 
App.,  398-403. 

Petition,  the  Commons  to  the 
King,  215-217. 

Petition,  the  right  to,  163;  App., 
406. 

Petyt's,  Jus  Parliamentarium, 
179. 

Phelips,  Sir  Robert,  175;  speeches 
in  the  House,  214,  221,  232, 
234,  note;  committed  to  the 
Tower,  225. 

Pleas  of  the  Crown,  45;  typical 
records  of,  64-69,  94;  App., 
386. 

Plural  Voting  Bill,  339. 

Pole,  Michael  de  la,  163,  note  2. 

Population,  115,  note. 

Possessory  Assizes,  44,  45,  60- 
64;  App.,  385. 

Privileges  of  Parliament,  first 
asked,  173-174;  Elizabeth's 
answer  to  demands  for,  200- 
201;  Apology  of  the  Commons, 


420 


Index 


quoted,  203-205;    petitions  to 

the   King,   207-208,   215-217; 

the    King's   answer,    218—220; 

the  Protestation,  223-224. 
Privy  Council,  see  Council. 
Provisions  of  Oxford,  84. 
Pym,  John,  232,  234,  note. 

R 

Radicals,  332,  333,  334,  338. 

Ramsey  Abbey,  113,  114;  ex- 
cerpts from  Cartulary  of,  121- 
127. 

Records  of  Boston  Selectmen,  246; 
excerpts  from,  277-278. 

Reform  Bill,  first,  332;  second, 
336;  third,  335. 

Remonstrance  by  the  Commons, 
plans  for,  231 ;  proceeded  with, 

234- 
Resolution  of  1678,  the  Commons 

text  of,  347,  note. 
Rich,   Sir   Nathaniel,   speech  in 

the  House,  232. 
Richard  I.,  39,  44,  77;  App.,  390- 

392. 
Richard  II.,  116,  note,  162-170 

passim,  194,  note  3. 
Rockingham,    Marquis   of,    284, 

285, 287, 306, 317, 318-319, 325. 
Rolls  of  Parliament,  i6i,note,  166, 

note,  194,  217. 
Rosebery,    Lord,    quoted,    334- 

335.  336,  337i  347;   resolutions 

of,  355-356. 

Rushworth's  Historical  Collec- 
tions, 180,  181;  excerpts  from, 

231,  233-234  and  notes. 


St.  Alban's  Chronicle,  quoted, 
165  and  note  I,  167,  note  2. 

St.  Augustine,  documents  re- 
lating to  monastery  of,  40; 
text  of,  51-53- 

St.   Stephen,  document  relating 


to  monastery  of,  41;    text  of, 

53-55- 
St.   Vincent,   document   relating 

to  monastery  of,  39,  40;    text 

of,  48-51. 

Saladin  Tithe,  78;  text  of,  91-92. 
Salisbury,  Marquess  of,  335,  337, 

347- 
Sandys,  Sir  Edwin,  case  of,  211. 

213  and  note. 
Savile,  Sir  John,  speeches  in  the 

House,  228. 

Selectmen,  265-280  passim. 
Seven  Years'  War,  283,  284. 
Seymour,  Sir  Francis,  speech  in 

the  House,  220-221. 
Shelburne,  Lord,  284-326  passim; 

Life  of  William,  Earl  of  288, 

314-315. 

Sheppard,  William,  Offices  and 
Duties  of  Constables,  Bars- 
holders,  etc.,  245;  excerpts 
from,  252-255. 

Sheriffs,  74;  inquest  of,  75-78, 
79,  81,  82;  excerpts  from  in- 
quest of,  88-89,  93-IO°  passim, 
103-106,  109,  121,  145,  152, 
note  3,  153;  App.,  372,  376- 
380,  386,  387,  389,  390,  396. 

Shire  court,  37,  80,  81,  96,  97; 
App.,  379- 

Silva,  Guzman  de,  Spanish  am- 
bassador, 177,  187. 

Simon  de  Montfort,  84,  85,  100. 

Slavery,  109,  113. 

Spain,  in  the  peace  negotiations 
with  America,  283-286  passim, 

298,  304,  305,  3",  324- 
Spanish  Papers,  see  Calendars  of 

State  Papers. 

Speaker  of  the  House,  163,  164; 
Savage,  1 65 ;  Pickering,  Cheyne, 
Bussy,  1 66  and  note  2;  de  la 
Mare,  167,  171,  173;  Thorpe, 
194  and  note  4,  195,  197,  198, 
199,200,201,  212,217,226,230, 
note,  231,233  andlnote,  234-235. 


421 


Source  Problems  in  English  History 


Star  Chamber,  Court  of,  237. 

Statute  of  Laborers,  116,  117, 
143,  note;  text  of,  146-152, 
153,  156. 

Stephen,  41,  74. 

Stevens,Richard,imprisoned,  202. 

Strickland,  Mr.,  debate  over  case 
of,  192-195. 

Strode,  Richard,  case  of,  172  and 
notes,  236,  238. 

Strode,  Sir  William,  speech  in  the 
Commons,  213. 

Suspending  power,  see  Dispens- 
ing. 


Taxation,  37,  78,  81,  162-163; 
App.,  397-399,  4«2.  4<>4,  4°6. 

Thirty  Years'  War,  210. 

Thorpe,  Thomas,  speaker  of  the 
House,  194,  note  4. 

Tonnage  and  poundage,  234-235. 

Tories,  see  Conservatives. 

Tories  (American),  296. 

Town-meeting,  the  New  Eng- 
land, see  Problem  VI. 

Townshend's  Historical  Collec- 
tions, 178;  excerpts  from,  200- 
202. 

Treason,  App.,  405. 


Valentine,  Benjamin,  235-238. 
Venetian  Papers,  see  Calendars  of 

State  Papers. 
Vergennes,     M.     de,     285-321 

passim. 

Vestry,  see  Problem  VI. 
Veto,  the  Lords',  see  Problem  VIII. 
Villeins,     36-38,     76,     96;      see 

Problem   IV;   App.,  375,  385. 

W 

Wager  of  battle,  45. 
Wages,  see  Problem  IV. 
Wandesford,        Christopher, 


speeches  in  the  Commons, 
228,  233. 

Wars  of  the  Roses,  172. 

Wedmore,  13,  20,  27. 

Welch,  Mr.,  imprisoned,  202. 

Wentworth,  Paul,  186,  194,  note 
2,  202. 

Wentworth,  Peter,  175;  speech 
in  the  House,  195-197;  ex- 
amination of,  197,  198;  be- 
fore the  Council,  201;  com- 
mitted to  the  Tower,  202. 

Wentworth,  Sir  Thomas  (later 
created  Earl  of  Strafford),  206, 
imprisoned,  209;  speech  in 
Parliament,  211. 

Weston,  Sir  Richard,  chancellor 
of  the  exchequer,  speech  of, 
230. 

Whigs,  284,  285,  331-332;  see 
also  Liberals. 

Whitelocke,  Bulstrpde,  205,  note ; 
Notes  of  the  Parliament  of  1626, 
1 80;  excerpts  from,  225-230. 

Whitelocke,  Sir  James,  205  and 
note. 

Wilde,  John,  speech  in  the  House, 
226. 

William  I.,  39-41,  5I~53.  74: 
App.,  369- 

William  II.,  App.,  368-370. 

William  III.,  App.,  404,  405, 407- 
412. 

Winthrop,  John,  265;  Journal, 
excerpts  from,  244-245,  246, 
278-279. 

Winwood,  Sir  Ralph,  letter  to 
Carleton,  209. 

Wolsey,  Thomas,  cardinal,  173, 
note  2. 


Yelverton,  Sir  Christopher,  193- 

194. 

Yonge,  Thomas,  case  of,  171, 172. 
Yorktown,    surrender    of,    284, 

286. 


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